Sonic Injustice: Gods Among Mobians
by TheSavageMan100
Summary: A Sonic/Injustice crossover. In an alternate world, Sonic the Hedgehog was a tyrant and established the One-Planet Regime that seized control of all Mobius. Only this world's Shadow the Hedgehog can stop the Regime with a little help from heroes from another reality, and a fierce clash ensues, leaving the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note  
** _Hello everyone! TheSavageMan100 is back again, and this time, I've decided to make a story on the world's fastest hedgehog based on Injustice: Gods Among Us. It will take place on the Archie Comics community (and I'm not talking about the Super Genesis Wave Storyline), and each Sonic character would be given roles considerably. Before I would begin the story, I'd like to give a shoutout to my old friend Joel at high school for inspiring me to make this fanstory, and for being a good support to some of my works._

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Archie Comics, Sega, or DC. All rights belongs to their respective owners.

 _And now, on with the show!_

* * *

" _I can say without a doubt that there are an infinite number of universes. Some are just like our own… but for one or two events, exactly the same." –Lex Luthor_

 **SONIC INJUSTICE: Gods Among Mobius**

Today should've been an ordinary day at Mobius. An ordinary day when the innocent, peace-loving Mobians would come and go as they please. An ordinary day when a super-villain or a giant robot attacked and the Freedom Fighters or some other hero would come and save the day. The people of Mobius always assumed that nothing bad would come to them as a result of Nicole's nanites or some other heroic stuff like that, and that they had nothing to fear from any kind of threat.

Today was the day that everything changed.

At 5:37 P.M., a giant flash of light enveloped New Mobotropolis. The entire city was vaporized, destroyed in a nuclear explosion. Countless millions were killed, and the names were still coming in.

Mina Mongoose. Ash Mongoose. Rotor Walrus. Sir Charles Hedgehog. Jules Hedgehog. Bernadette Hedgehog. The names kept pouring. Even the Council of Acorn, the ruling governmental body, was counted among the dead.

"New Mobotropolis Destroyed: Millions Dead," this was the title of the shocking news that appeared in every media channel reporting the troublesome news of the destruction of the once peaceful and prosperous city. As the news spreads like wildfire, other neighboring cities seemed to have a greater grieving moment. Rescue workers, G.U.N. soldiers, along with the help of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix— what's left of them— attempted to pull whoever still lives under the wreckage.

But in the gathering of all these heroes, only one was missing.

* * *

 **G.U.N. Headquarters  
Interrogation Room**

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik felt a white-gloved fist smash his face as he was forced down into a chair. Despite a hint of broken glasses and a soft bruise in his face, the evil doctor sported a sinister smile. It was too late to undo the damage he had caused. His plan had gone perfectly.

The figure of Shadow the Hedgehog leaned on the desk, demanding answers from Eggman, "The nuke, Doctor! Where'd you get it?"

"What, you want one as well, Shadow?" Eggman jeered. "Copy-hog…"

Shadow was furious for two reasons. One was that Dr. Eggman had finally managed to commit genocide unlike anything Mobius had seen before since the Great War. But also equally upsetting was the cause of this had been at the hands of someone whom Shadow had felt was a true rival and friend as Rogue and Omega were to him.

"You made him murder the Princess, Doctor," Shadow gritted his teeth. "You made him murder his unborn children and took his home away from him. Why would you make him do such a thing?!" He asked angrily, slamming his fists down on the desk, making Eggman laugh amusingly.

"Plain and simple," Eggman answered. "I did it to prove a point."

"This has always been between you and me!" Shadow shouted, grabbing Eggman by his jacket. "Why would you do this to him?! WHY?!"

"I wanted to win, Shadow," Eggman explained. "Every time Sonic and I crossed paths, he always defeated me. Every plan, every scheme, every step of the way— ruined! He was too strong _and_ too fast for me to break. But his spirit… ah! Sonic was easy to manipulate, to crush his spirit, to crush his dreams. That's why I took the Princess and implanted the trigger to that warhead I stole. And with the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra's hallucinogenic gas, I nullified his senses to make him think he was fighting that plant monster the whole time. To think he murdered his own wife and unborn children!" He then laughed, "Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! That meddlesome hedgehog finally knows what true pain feels like! He knows the harsh reality of the world, as you once did. It won't be long before Sonic will face his greatest downfall— not by my hand— but ironically, his." He laughed again.

Eggman stopped laughing to see Shadow still looking confident. He thought Sonic would recover from this pain, but… "What do you think it'll do to him, Shadow? You were created by my grandfather knowing the world was broken, but Sonic was optimistic. He was naïve to believe the world was right as long as he was in it. Now that he's murdered the people closest to him, how do you think he'll react now?"

"It won't work, Doctor!" Shadow rejected. "Sonic will grieve, yes, but he won't break. He'll remain the same brave blue hedgehog I've seen for a while now."

"Really?" Eggman smirked, hearing the sounds of G.U.N. soldiers screaming and footsteps quickly approaching the cell they're in. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?"

With that, the door behind Eggman bursts open into a crack, and in stepped the figure of Sonic the Hedgehog. Shadow could see his blue counterpart's fists clenched tight together, a vicious glare appearing on his face, directly at Eggman.

"Get away from him," Sonic demanded, a tone of pure anger pulsed his voice.

"I'm handling this," Shadow told him.

Sonic slowly approached his arch-nemesis who leaned with one elbow on the table to hold his head up. Then, by a snap of the twig, Sonic tossed the table away into a wall. With just as much speed, Sonic grabbed Eggman by the neck and slammed him into the opposite wall.

"YOU DRUGGED ME! MADE ME..." Sonic screamed, before his head hung to the ground, muttering despairingly, "Sally… My kids…"

This wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. After many hard fought battles against Dr. Eggman and other powerful villains, Sonic asked Sally Acorn, who had always been a potential love interest during their Freedom Fighter years, to marry him, to which she happily accepted. Both hedgehog and squirrel wed in a ceremony that set New Mobotropolis in a festive mood, the same way Bunnie and Antoine wed at Knothole.

A few months later, Sonic had discovered that his new wife was pregnant with three children. At any rate, this could signify the birth of new heirs to the throne of the Republic of Acorn. Sonic and Sally were to be king and queen, and the three newborn children would be princes or princesses. Tragically, that ideal dream was never to be.

The pregnant Sally was kidnapped and experimented on by Dr. Eggman and his assistant nephew, Snively. Sonic found her with the help of his fellow Freedom Fighters in the Death Egg Mk. II, only to find the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra waiting for him. Desperate to defend his family, Sonic tackled the Hydra out of the blimp, repeatedly beating the monster as they fell down to Station Square below. The hedgehog Spin Dashed with all his might to make sure the Hydra could be easily subdued.

It was only when they landed on top of the skyscraper that Sonic realized he had been tricked.

He hadn't been fighting the Hydra at all.

Instead of the villainous plant monster, it was the broken, bleeding, and dying body of Sally Acorn that Sonic stood over. One minute, his senses quickly recovered to discover Sally and her unborn children had died. And the next, he could see the blast had gone off from New Mobotropolis. His senses were on fire, but he didn't hear any of it. Not when he carried Sally's dead body outside his home city. Not when Tails, Knuckles, or Amy attempted to comfort him. Not when he learned that Dr. Eggman had been taken in to G.U.N. Headquarters, facing interrogation. Not when he took off instantly to the protest of his fellow Freedom Fighters.

All he could think of was that Eggman had done this. If Sonic had acted sooner, he might've had a chance saved everyone.

"First Knothole, now New Mobotropolis," Eggman smirked, patting Sonic's shoulder. "People you love tend to blow up, don't they?"

Sonic growled and raised a fist to punch his hated enemy in the face.

"Sonic, don't!" Shadow protested.

Sonic punched the wall just inches away from Eggman's face, creating a small crack.

"That's the only thing I like about you, Sonic," Eggman chuckled. "You're much more gullible than your little friends were."

Sonic's anger fueled him again as he threw Eggman into the opposite wall where the table stood, breaking it in two. The doctor slowly recovered from the pain, albeit with a lot of pain in his back.

"You think you can have a family," Eggman pointed out. "That locking me up will magically reform me. And they'll be safe." He pulled his chair back up and sat back down, "So big, yet so dumb." He chuckled amidst an approaching Sonic, "Now run along with what's left of your band so I can break out of here. I've got lots of planning to do to top this. Run along… Run for the rest of your life… and never escape the humiliation of today."

Sonic had finally taken all he could from the villainous doctor. He already destroyed so much, killed so many of Sonic's closest friends and family. But he could not tolerate this any longer; his anger had reached its maximum point. He was not willing to let Eggman do this to him or anybody else again. There was only one way to settle this once and for all, not caring of the consequences it will bring.

With a growl, Sonic took Eggman by the neck and lifted him, ready to do what was necessary to save lives.

"That's enough!" Shadow yelled. He stepped up to stop his blue counterpart, but Sonic flung him back with the swipe of a hand. He didn't want anyone getting in his way. Not now.

"I know it's soon…" Eggman wheezed. "But… you think you'll ever love again? Maybe… Maybe you won't end up killing your next family…"

Sonic's eyes glinted with rage. This was the point of no return. The hero of Mobius had made his decision in the name of the greater good.

Shadow looked up just in time to see Sonic lift Eggman up in the air and curl into a Spin Dash that jumped upward and struck Eggman's round body. The Spin Dash was so deadly on impact; Eggman's body was split in half. His decapitated body splattered on the floor, blood gushing from where the halves stood.

The last thing Shadow heard from Eggman was a dominant, maniacal laugh, with a mixture of pain and insanity in his voice.

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was dead. The tyrant who ruled Mobius with an iron fist was no more.

And worst of all, Shadow knew that Eggman's death was only the beginning.

* * *

After Dr. Eggman's death, Sonic secluded himself in an apartment in Station Square, reflecting on his decision for two weeks. Meanwhile, the United Federation decided that the Freedom Fighters were no longer able to keep the peace they worked so hard to do. The group was dismantled as the President turned to Sonic for help, deciding that since he had been personally involved with New Mobotropolis's destruction, this could lead to a greater chance of redemption.

Unfortunately, upon hearing of an attack by remnants of the Dark Egg Legion, Sonic finally left the confines of his temporary residence and, against the rules of the United Federation, captured the President and dethroned him personally. The remnants of the Freedom Fighters, deciding this would be the time to support the one who had lost his family, helped Sonic prepare a speech in which he accepted his position as High Councilor of a new peacekeeping regime known as the One-Planet Government.

This new governmental body began forcing various nations to never start a war again, and utilized their newly formed military power to lead a wholesale eradication of crime throughout the planet. Once they had rendered the planet's military resources under their control, the Regime took over nations, oil fields, oceans, and other energy producing resources, including the Chaos Emeralds and the Space Colony ARK.

Envisioning the creation of a mass superpower and the spread of a world free of crime and corruption was beyond anything the population ever dreamed, but not for the One-Planet Government. It had proven itself a new world order, surpassing other superpowers the likes of the United Federation, the Republic of Acorn, and the Eggman Empire in any regard. A new global economy was born, and a glorious new hour was at hand.

And because the One-Planet Government is so tremendous in power, former villains were compelled to join their ranks such as the Dark Egg Legion and the Destructix. Their reasons behind joining the Regime were the promised reciprocations and payment of their talents, and they wanted to have influence in the government. Additionally, they gained the support of one of Mobius's veteran scientists, Dr. Finitevus, who served as the One-Planet Government's chief funder and close friend/role model to Sonic.

However, there were those who knew that the One-Planet Government and its High Councilor were unstable. They feared it to be a far greater evil— even worse than Dr. Eggman. The Regime continued its pursuit to consolidate its power by executing those the government deemed as its enemies, conducting bizarre experiments, and capturing opposing rebellions. Indeed, they saw corruption and evil everywhere where there are none. The One-Planet Government promised all of Mobius they would promote peace and security for all, but in reality, they only wish to promote themselves, and they will use terror to achieve their aims for world peace— they wish to control the people by inspiring fear.

That is where the dark nature of the One-Planet Government was revealed— the death of Dr. Eggman traded one tyrant for another. Sonic the Hedgehog became the opposite of the side he belonged to, became what he was fighting— a dictator.

And thus, with the help of Commander Abraham Tower, Shadow formed a small resistance movement comprising of soldiers from the disbanded G.U.N. organization and a small cadre of Freedom Fighters who did not see Sonic's reign as a force for good. The team originally consisted of Shadow, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Espio the Chameleon, Shard the Metal, Leeta Wolf, Lyco Wolf, and Larry Lynx.

One day, the resistance learned of the One-Planet Government's latest activity. To ensure the Regime stayed in power, Sonic took all seven Chaos Emeralds and absorbed their power following a secret experiment. The progress was slow and agonizing, but the Chaos Emeralds' energy successfully fused with his cells, and his connectivity with the Chaos Force is able to withstand the side-effects. No longer able to transform into Super Sonic, he is free to control the Chaos Force to its full extent.

Another batch of recent activity is the creation of the Regime's latest weapon: an endurance pill enhanced by Chaos Energy that boosts the user in strength and gives half the speed, power, and agility of Sonic's powers. Shadow's team was split in two: Abraham, Shard, and Omega would lead a team of G.U.N. agents into battle as a distraction, while Shadow, Espio, Rouge, Leeta, Lyco, and Larry would mount a break-in to the One-Planet Government's headquarters and steal the endurance pill.

The pill was successively retrieved, but only at a great cost. Shard was revealed to be a double-agent working for the Regime, who then led Abraham's squad into a trap. The G.U.N. agents were quickly executed, including Abraham and Omega. The High Councilor was made aware of this and ordered his forces to set up defenses throughout the One-Planet Government's headquarters. When Shadow and his team remained, Espio originally attempted to hit Sonic with a poison kunai, but the hedgehog's senses had improved following his ruthless descent to madness, and he managed to deflect the kunai into one of his closest associates' arms by mistake.

Not out for blood, Sonic led a personal trek to hunt the resistance down. Espio was able to toss the pill to Shadow, who used Chaos Control to escape. Rouge, Espio, Leeta, Lyco, and Larry stayed behind to stall for time, only to suffer Sonic's wrath. Larry was killed by an experimental laser from an incoming Miles "Tails" Prower, Lyco and Leeta were choked and suffocated by Knuckles the Echidna, and Espio was beaten to death by Sonic. The only one spared was Rouge, who was offered a position in the One-Planet Government with the promise of riches and power beyond imagining. Rouge willingly accepted, unable to resist her obsession for treasure.

Sensing the desperation of the resistance, Tails' uncle Merlin Prower elected to stall Sonic and calm the former hero, whilst Shadow and the remaining G.U.N. agents relocated to G.U.N.'s abandoned headquarters. It was a simple matter for the resistance to scan and upload the pill so they would manufacture more.

When Merlin spoke to Sonic, he summoned the souls of his deceased mother, father, and uncle, who tried to convince him that what he did was wrong. But the pleas of his parents' specters fell on deaf ears. All Sonic took away was that Shadow led them to his death because he was too stubborn to change. Instead, he continued his pursuit for Shadow, who was currently uploading the pill for analysis…

* * *

 **G.U.N. Headquarters**

Shadow was thankful for times like this when some technology was easy to understand. Commander Abraham had shown him how to use the synthesizer before they left for the mission. It had cost the lives of his closest friends— Rouge, Omega, Espio… no. Shadow had to focus on the task at hand. The loss of friends no longer concerns him. He had to complete the synthesizer. Merlin wasn't able to hold Sonic for long; he was no longer the heroic hedgehog they knew him to be anymore.

Uploading the code, Shadow watched at the progress bar appeared on one of the nearby monitors. He held his breath, praying this would not take long. Suddenly, on another monitor, a blue outline of a figure appeared on the screen.

"He's coming!" A voice screamed, originating from one of the G.U.N. agents.

Shadow looked back to the loading screen. Only 6% of the upload was complete. "I can't leave," he muttered. "It's not finished yet."

"HE'S COMING!" The voice repeated loudly.

"No," Shadow corrected as he heard a familiar blue blur of wind blowing through his fur. "He's already here."

Sonic disdainfully looked at Shadow, who is still focused on the monitor. Sonic was unaware of the screen showing the upload sign, and Shadow had to keep it that way so that the resistance could get the formula.

"Can I help you?" Shadow asked.

"I had a little chat with those G.U.N. agents earlier today," Sonic replied. "Wanted to make sure they won't be churning out any more stunts with you." He paused to let this sink in, "They won't be."

Shadow's eyes silently widened as his worst fears were realized. The G.U.N. agents were all dead.

Sonic continued, "All these years, I've put away all the bad guys in this world. But I left that worthless cause. Imagine me, the hypocrite who believes he's doing the right thing by promoting a world that wasn't perfect to begin with, yet the _real_ evils are still running loose. All my life, I thought all was right with the world. Apparently…" His voice grew vicious, "I was wrong! No matter what we do, evil always has to find its way every time!"

The screen read 18% completed.

"You're delusional, Sonic," Shadow growled under his breath.

At lightning speed, Sonic grabbed Shadow by the neck, lifting him up. "Be careful how you talk to me," he gritted his teeth. "I've done more for this world than you ever have. While you run around screaming and hacking at things with guns and bombs, I found a solution. I created a world free of crime, free of hunger, free of disease. And it's not hard for everyone to follow me, if you weren't so thick about it."

"To do what, exactly?" Shadow scoffed. "To force people into living under your rule?"

"I'm doing this for peace," Sonic answered, no longing gritting his teeth, but still using a serious tone to his voice. "But I'm nothing like Eggman. This world needs a savior, and that savior is me. Without me, there will be no peace and everything would fall apart. If I can't do it, no one will."

"Then why have you followed me here?" Shadow asked coldly.

"I'm here to put an end to this. I'm giving you a no-expense trip to one of my re-educational camps," Sonic offered. "If you behave like the other villains, I'll consider letting you go. Better yet, I'll let you join me."

Shadow scoffed again, "If you were here to end this, you would've killed me already. You could've used your new technology to launch a missile at me, or have Tails create something. If you were going to end this, you wouldn't need to be here."

"And why would I want to kill you?" Sonic asked severely.

"Because you stain your hands with blood," Shadow spat back. "The blood of your own friends! The blood of Espio the Chameleon!"

Mentioning Espio's name prompted Sonic to release his pressured grip on Shadow's neck. Shadow took a quick glance behind him to see that 37% of the upload was complete.

"He was a member of the Chaotix. A Freedom Fighter. A hero, just like you!" Shadow retorted. "Go ahead, Sonic. Justify his death. Justify Omega's. Leeta's. Lyco's. Larry's. And I'm assuming you took out Tails' uncle. Go ahead and justify the many lives you've taken. Tell the world why these people had to die for the 'greater good.'"

Sonic didn't show any signs of breaking down. Instead, he glanced at Shadow with a smirk, "How nice of you to mention these names. The names of the criminals who tried to attack me. The resistance's little stooges."

Shadow protested, "They're not criminals! And they're not just _my_ friends. They're _yours_ as well!"

Sonic growled and threw Shadow into the wall behind him. The black hedgehog hit the wall hard, and groaned as he got back to his feet. He took a quick glance at the upload about 54% complete. He'd have to stall for just a little bit more so that the formula could be finished.

Sonic ranted, "So, you tell me that I'm the reason my friends are dead, you mock me, after I've pulled off the most monumental achievement yet seen in Mobius, and then you tell me I killed _my_ own friends, and you expect me to do nothing about it?!"

"I'm not like you, Sonic. I'm not a murderer. But that would be easier to stop you, wouldn't it?" Shadow asked. "If I just shut up? If I just got hold of the Chaos Emeralds and repeatedly blasted you, over and over again? For all you've done, and the people you've killed?"

Sonic responded coldly, "What about it?"

"If you want to kill me, then so you may," Shadow replied sarcastically. "Go ahead and kill me, if that's what you want. I'm sure Sally will be glad to see you kill your own friends to satisfy your lust for power."

All of a sudden, mentioning Sally's name pushed Sonic's temper over the edge.

"SHUT UP!"

With a thunderous cry, Sonic repeatedly punched Shadow. The Chaos Energy he channeled was so immense; a normal person would have all their bones broken, but Shadow's own Chaos Force allowed Shadow to endure, albeit a large hint of pain.

"After your wedding ceremony, you made a promise to protect your family," Shadow stated cruelly. "And you failed."

"I FAILED?!" Sonic roared, disgusted by Shadow's taunt. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S FAILED! YOU FAILED EVERYONE! YOU LET CRIMINALS GO TO JAIL KNOWING THEY COULD EASILY BREAK OUT AND KILL OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

The analysis was now 83% done.

"And your solution was to kill criminals?!" Shadow shouted back. "Do you honestly believe you're honoring Sally by contemplating genocide? Is this what she would've wanted?"

Sonic responded by throwing a single punch to Shadow's face, "I'M DOING THIS FOR HER!"

"No," Shadow deadpanned. "You stopped doing things in the name of honor the moment Sally died. You're doing all of these atrocities only for _yourself_. You're no longer a hero, Sonic. You're no longer the brave hedgehog I knew all these years ago. You're just a tyrant mad with power, exactly what we're fighting against. A complete monster."

"I'm done being lectured, Shadow," Sonic growled. "You should've been there a long time ago, trying to save New Mobotropolis. But you were too stubborn— you left everyone to die because you were too busy with other things. You don't listen to others; you're stubborn, that's you who are. You're not the brave and heroic hedgehog I always thought you were. You're nothing but a fraud! You always were a fraud from the very beginning, Shadow— you and that smug face of yours!"

93% complete.

"And now, I'm going to return the favor. I'm sending you to re-education," Sonic declared. "But before I do, I can't have you in a position where you can hurt me or end up making decisions that hurt anyone else anymore. I want you to accept it, and do a better job at it."

96% complete.

Still not paying attention to the screen, Sonic once again punched Shadow repeatedly, beating him into submission. Then, he slammed Shadow's head down into his leg, knocking him down to the ground.

But Shadow is still conscious. He wheezed, "You… You won't get away with this. Soon, someone else will stop you. Tyranny won't last. Freedom will win." He gasped for breath, "Mobius will have the rule of justice."

Sonic only scoffed, "It already has. I _am_ justice."

Ignoring Sonic, Shadow tried to push himself up, but Sonic placed a boot on his chest, applying pressure fueled by Chaos Energy. The pressure is strong enough to make Shadow cough up blood.

"Shadow, really," Sonic scoffed again. "Enough already. Stop trying to fight me!"

"I wasn't… I wasn't trying to fight you," Shadow grinned weakly. "I was trying to distract you."

Sonic turned back. For the first time, he noticed the analysis table with the screen reading 'Analysis Complete. Files have been sent to uploaded location per-instructions.'

"What…" Sonic asked horrified by what happened. "What did you do?!"

"I'm glad you asked, blue hedgehog," Shadow replied. "I gave us a fighting chance. Now we can make more of that durability enhancement for ourselves. There is still hope for all of us. We don't have to be afraid of you, Sonic. Not anymore."

And that's when it struck Sonic. He cried, "The endurance pill...!"

Shadow's smile never wavered. He didn't even care about Sonic's face which turned from a shocked expression to a vengeful glare.

"WHY YOU—"

But Sonic never finished his sentence. He suddenly felt a hand grab his shoulder. Sonic turned around to see a newcomer standing behind him with an angry look on her face. She was a human wearing a red shirt, black overalls, red shoes, and had short blonde hair. It was someone he recognized very well...

"Hope Kintobor?" Sonic asked confusedly. He failed to notice the enhancement pill was gone. Before he knew what happened next, Hope grabbed Sonic by the shoulders and slammed her head into Sonic's face. The result gave Sonic a pain unlike anything he had felt before, giving off the sound of a shockwave. Hope pulled away to look at the dazed hedgehog, his nose broken and bleeding from both nostrils. With the poke of Hope's finger to the chest, the corrupted hero of Mobius fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"I'm _very_ disappointed in you, Mr. Sonic," Hope stated angrily, before she got down on her knees and pounded Sonic in the face repeatedly. "You used to be our friend! I don't like you anymore!" Her voice grew more and more angrier as she continued pounding, creating a crack on the floor. With tears streaming her eyes, she screamed, "NEVER AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU DON'T HURT MY FRIEND ANYMORE! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!" When she was finished, Hope got up and knelt next to Shadow. "Are you okay, Shadow?"

"I'm fine," Shadow replied weakly. "We must leave. Now."

"I'll help you out of here," Hope offered. She grabbed Shadow, who groaned with pain, and quickly escorted him out of the computer room. Sonic could only groan as he watched Hope escape with Shadow in her arms. Sonic tried with every ounce of strength he could to push himself up, but instead fell on his back before blacking out. For the first time in his life, the tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy he absorbed seemed to fail him.

A few minutes later, he would awake, and he would be severely enraged.

From where G.U.N. Headquarters stood, a tremendous explosion erupted. The only sound heard out of the furiously burning flames was Sonic's cry of frustration.

* * *

Thus, the manhunt for Shadow the Hedgehog and Hope Kintobor begins. Only two individuals stand in a war against a global superpower that ruled the planet with an iron fist.

There is only one play left that Shadow and Hope have; it is known as 'Operation: Chaos Neutralizer.' A final play by G.U.N. in the event that the Chaos Emeralds step out of line; G.U.N. secretly had a way of channeling energy from the Master Emerald to neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds.

However, that plan was made with a device that could only be used by the original Freedom Fighters; most of whom are dead, a few alive on the wrong side of the battlefield. Fortunately, with the help of a mysterious benefactor, Shadow and Hope were able to find help from the most unlikely of places.

Another reality. A world untouched by Dr. Eggman's destruction of New Mobotropolis. A world where the heroes are still pure and good.

And this is where our story begins…


	2. The Ultimate Life Form

**ELSEWHERE…**

In the war-scarred battlefield of Knothole, a small group of heroes fight outnumbered against a mighty army.

Knuckles groaned as he was slugged again in the face by Bark the Polar Bear. The punch was hard enough to send him crashing into three rocks. Wiping his nose, Knuckles picked himself back up and glided straight back into the fight. Around him, his fellow Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were already at work.

Earlier today, Dr. Robotnik had once again put together an alliance of Mobius's most dangerous villains. This time, the line-up consisted of the Dark Egg Legion, the Destructix, the Fearsome Foursome, and the Battle Bird Armada, including other dangerous adversaries such as Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, Dr. Finitevus, and the former king of the Iron Dominion, Jun Kun. The main enemy forces are attempting to attack Nicole's force field protecting New Mobotropolis, and a field team of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-123 Omega, Monkey Khan, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, Saffron Bee, Vector the Crocodile, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray Squirrel is formed to suppress the situation.

Amy was in the middle of trying to strike Mammoth Mogul with her Piko Piko Hammer, while the ancient elephant Mobian continued to block every attack with his bizarre enchantments. Omega was busy decimating the army's large battalions with his heavy artillery. Sonic was busy taking care of Drago Wolf. Charmy and Saffron were chasing after Metal Sonic, Mecha Tails, and Mecha Knuckles, outsmarting every booby trap the robotic duplicates cooked up. Vector, Mighty, and Ray were playfully beating Ixis Naugus like tossing a ball. Tails and Espio were fighting against Destructix members Fiona Fox and Lightning Lynx. Tails repeatedly fired blasts from his Buster Arm Cannon which his ex-love interest deflected with her whip, and it seemed as if Espio and Lynx were both evenly matched in terms of their fighting skills.

"I'm gonna enjoy rippin' yer bones off, hedgehog!" Drago growled, menacingly flashing his razor-sharp claws.

"Sorry, Wolf-man!" Sonic quipped, dodging every slash of Drago's claws and counterattacking with a Spin Dash, knocking him out. "Your claws seriously need a manicure!"

Mogul was grinning, as Amy could not seem to hit him.

"You won't ever be able to breach the defenses of my magic, little girl," Mogul laughed confidently. "For Mammoth Mogul is superior—"

Mogul was cut off when Amy swiftly swung her mallet at his forehead, knocking him out cold. The direct hit was so intense, even for an ancient Mobian, that he is able to fall unconscious. Who could remember that the Piko Piko Hammer is strong enough to counter the Iron King; it can also be strong enough to knock out a nigh omnipotent being?

Amy retorted, "Blah, blah, blah, tusk for brains! Eat mallet!" She smiled back, placing a hand on her waist and leaning while holding her hammer.

With Mogul taken care of, Monkey Khan quickly attended to Sonic's aid, flinging his thunder staff to summon a powerful bolt of lightning, taking out a surrounding battalion of Dark Egg Legionaires and Battle Birds all at once, including Predator Hawk and Flying Frog. All enemies shockingly went down hard, just like that.

Espio and Tails, having finished their own fight, went over and cuffed the two unconscious Destructix members, and Tails reunited with Sonic, the two sharing a quick fist-bump.

"All right, guys," Sonic nodded, "Let's wrap this up, 'cause I've got a date with a ugly green—"

He was cut off when he and the others heard a familiar plant-monster land next to them. "…Krudzu," Sonic finished his sentence, quickly speeding ahead and slashing the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra's vines with multiple Spin Attacks, before anyone could protest.

* * *

 **Castle Acorn  
Throne Room**

While the battle raged on in Knothole, another was taking place over at Castle Acorn.

The Council of Acorn was held hostage by the villainous alliance, and liberating them from the castle was the only task at hand. Dr. Eggman had put together a separate team from the main battalion of forces outside New Mobotropolis consisting of team leader Dr. Finitevus, Jun Kun, Lien-Da, Slueth Dog, and Battle Lord Kukku. Thanks to Finitevus's power over Warp Rings attached to his arms and legs, he easily got past New Mobotropolis's defenses and brought along a team to lay siege to the castle.

Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette, Antoine D'Coolette, Rotor Walrus (in his battle suit), Julie-Su, and Sally Acorn were trying to hold their ground at the throne room as best they could, but they wouldn't last much longer.

"It's like the Iron Dominion all over again!" Bunnie exclaimed, as she fired an arm laser from which hit Battle Lord Kukku's knee, leaning back-to-back with her husband.

"I thought we would have cleaned this mess up by now," Antoine fretted in his thick French accent, brandishing his sword.

"We're Freedom Fighters, not miracle workers," Sally deadpanned. "Dr. Finitevus used the Warp Rings in his arms and legs to teleport a handful inside Castle Acorn. I guess we have to drive them out of the city the old fashioned way."

"Fine by me," Bunnie smiled. "Let's show these jokers what happens when they come messin' with our city."

" _Voici la puissance de notre amour!_ " Antoine proclaimed in French.

"YEE-HAW!" Bunnie cried thunderously, giving a blow to Slueth's head.

"Chaos Torrent!" Dr. Finitevus fired a series of dark lasers from his fingers at Bunnie and Antoine, who barely had time to dodge. Fortunately, Rotor appeared in front of them and deflected the dark lasers with his sonic boom cannon. Meanwhile, Sally was having a face-off with Lien-Da, and Julie-Su confronts Finitevus, the one who masterminded the Enerjak incident a while ago.

"You're interrupting tonight's entertainment, Julie-Su," Finitevus said.

"I could care less about that!" Julie-Su retorted, drawing out her laser gun and making a defensive stance. "If there's one thing I'm less fond of than the Dark Egg Legion or my half-sister, it's you." Her angry eyes directed on the white Echidna scientist, "Time for a little payback for what you did to Knuckles!"

As the two began their battle, Sally puts in a call on her com-link, "Sally to Shadow. Are you there? We could use your help."

" _After I check out Prison Island,_ _"_ Shadow answered over the com-link, _"_ _Rogue and I still have to make sure Dr. Eggman didn't bust anyone else out._ _"_

"Would you hurry it up?" Sally called impatiently. "We're getting our butts handed to us!"

 _"_ _We'll be there soon, Princess Sally._ _"_

* * *

 **Prison Island  
Prison Lane Detention Center**

Shadow was led by fellow G.U.N. agent Rogue the Bat deep within the reinforced stronghold known as Prison Island. They took an elevator which led them deep underground the island's maximum security detention center, Prison Lane.

"We've been keeping a close eye on the prisoners," Rogue said, pulling out an access key to Cell 44. "One of them hasn't been acting for hours since Eggman released most of them." She went to unlock the door, but Shadow held out an arm to stop her. Rogue was confused, but then she was quick to notice a tripwire at the base of the door below. A string that the door would have touched when opened.

"What the…" Shadow asked confused.

"Leave this to me," Rogue assured. She took a freeze spray out of her pocket; the latest G.U.N. tech in case of stuff like this. Since she was hired a government spy, Rogue was prepared for anything in case something like this came up. She sprayed the substance onto the tripwire, freezing it, and tapped it with her finger lightly, the thread harmlessly shattering into tiny pieces of ice. With the threat disabled, Shadow opened the door for both him and Rogue to see a dummy of Fang the Sniper with some explosives connected to the tripwire.

"How did this happen?" Shadow asked.

"This wasn't the real trap," Rogue answered. "In fact…" She quickly scooted out to dodge two laser blasts that broke a portion of the floor upon impact almost reaching her feet. "…it's right behind us."

The two noticed a new arrival; a purple and white weasel wearing a big brown Stetson hat, brown boots with white gaiters, and brown gloves with metal plates, with a large canine tooth and a long thick purple tail. It was Fang the Sniper, one of the most notorious bounty hunters in Mobius, holding his sniper rifle with a smirk.

"Fang the Sniper," Rogue recognized.

"You're so clever," Fang remarked sarcastically. "Did you figure that out by yourself, or did you need your boyfriend to help you?"

"Take cover!" Shadow told Rogue. "I've got this."

Rogue flew off as Shadow and Fang exchanged blows to each other. However, neither was able to hit the other as they would just block each attack. Finally, Fang took out a spare laser gun from his pocket and brought it over Shadow's head, but Shadow whisked it away with a Chaos Spear attack before punching Fang in the chest, giving him some distance.

"You're one of the doctor's lackeys, I take it?" Shadow asked.

"Hey!" Fang laughed. "His money's gold. And as an added bonus, I get to have a hedgehog for a trophy. Wish it was Sonic, though, but still, I'm gonna do what those idiot G.U.N. soldiers could've done a long time ago. Way back when you're livin' in a giant space hotel."

"Stop lecturing and let's get this over with," Shadow said.

 **STAGE 1: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG VS. FANG THE SNIPER**

Fang fired a sniper rifle at Shadow, to which he simply blocked with his Chaos Shield. Shadow charged forward with a Homing Attack, hitting Fang in the chest. With his foe off-guard, Shadow took this opportunity to uppercut Fang and leap up for another Homing Attack. Once the Homing Attack connects, Shadow unleashed a flurry of aerial punches and kicks, subduing Fang. Before Shadow could attack again, Fang quickly recovered and gave Shadow a rifle shot, sending Shadow back to the ground.

As Fang reached the bottom, however, Shadow simply pulled his fist back and punched the weasel as soon as he got within range. Shadow delivered Fang a series of punches and kicks, followed with a Chaos Spear. The Chaos Spear sent Fang flying into the elevator. As Shadow jumped in, the elevator began its way up; Shadow continually smacked away at Fang. Fang tried to block, but Shadow would easily predict his movements.

Eventually, Fang was so dazed that he didn't notice Shadow grabbing his shoulders and throwing him into the elevator's window, breaking it in the process. Now at the top floor, Shadow could see Fang getting exhausted.

"Now you've seen the true power of the Ultimate Life Form," Shadow smirked. "Surely, you could do better."

Fang breathed, "Sure I can! I've fought worse than you!"

"We'll see," Shadow nodded. "Chaos Control!" He vanished into thin air, reappeared, and lunged forward with a clothesline, swinging it so that it hits Fang in the face and flung his body backward. The impact sent him into the air, but before he could hit the ground, Shadow delivered two Homing Attacks, then a series of quick and swift punches and kicks in the air. When he was done, Shadow delivered a fully-charged Chaos Spear, devastating Fang and sending him crashing to the ground. The black hedgehog grinned with satisfaction of his victory.

"Sorry, bounty hunter," Shadow said. "No bonus for you."

With that, he left imminently, quickly patching into his communicator, "This is Shadow to Freedom Fighters. Come in." No response. He began picking up the pace, "Sally?"

* * *

 **Knothole  
Freedom Fighter HQ Battleground**

By now, the last of the villains' alliance's battalions have been routed. Most have been completely decimated thanks to Omega's handiwork, some are forced to retreat, and the rest attempted to fight the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix back.

Meanwhile, as the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra lunged its venomous fangs at Sonic, the hedgehog back-flipped and sprung forward with a Homing Attack to the chest, piercing through and causing it to screech in pain. Amy swung her hammer into the Hydra's back, sending it soaring upward and towards Monkey Khan riding on a nimbus cloud, who hammered it downward to the ground with his lightning staff.

Seeing the Hydra approaching downward to where Mighty, Ray, and Vector fought Naugus, with Espio, Charmy, and Saffron joining soon after, the Chaotix members smiled and stepped back a few inches.

"C'mon, Naugus!" Vector laughed. "What's the matter? Too afraid to hit real detectives?"

"You dare mock the great Ixis Naugus?!" Naugus yelled as he headed towards the Chaotix. "You shall taste the wrath of judgment, mortal fools!"

However, he failed to notice the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra falling right below him. BOOM! The weakened plant monster crashed onto the Mobian sorcerer, crushing his body and knocking him unconscious. The ground shook underneath them, leaving a crater where the Hydra laid in.

As Monkey Khan and Tails regrouped with the Chaotix, the two-tailed fox asked, "Monkey Khan, what was that?"

"The thunder of the gods, my two-tailed friend," Khan replied with a smile. "The thunder of the gods."

"And what does that make us, exactly?" Espio asked, raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra sprung back up from where Naugus was flattened. Having regenerated its body parts, the Hydra plunged its vines on Tails, Khan, and the Chaotix. However, Omega appeared and fired a barrage of rockets towards the plant monster, subduing it.

"Target identified as Krudzu Hybrid Hydra," Omega calculated. "Threat level elevated. Commencing assault mode."

"The poor slobs who clean up the mess," Mighty guessed.

"Yeah!" Charmy cheered. "We're slobs because we're lazy!"

Vector snapped, "Stop wearing us down than we already were, Charmy!"

Saffron pointed out, "Well, we're a bit tired and we fought off a lot of bad guys… We've been through enough as it is."

Tails, Khan, Espio, Mighty, and Ray simply shrugged as they went back to work.

* * *

 **Castle Acorn  
Throne Room**

Back at the throne room at Castle Acorn, Bunnie and Antoine were trying to hold off Dr. Finitevus, while Sally, Julie-Su, and Rotor were fighting off Finitevus's associates. As Antoine tried to slash at Finitevus with his sword, Finitevus snuck in a Warp Ring sucker punch, kneeing Antoine in the chest. Antoine groaned in pain and was unable to prevent Finitevus from knocking him out with a torrent of dark Chaos Energy, rendering him unable to move.

"Get away from him, you freak!" Bunnie shouted, but before she could attack Finitevus, she was decimated by Jun Kun's Tremor Mace, brought crashing to the ground by the hammer's intense shockwave.

The Freedom Fighters are at a disadvantage. Finitevus's team caught them on the ropes.

Finitevus announced, "Now, if there are no further interruptions…"

Suddenly, Finitevus could sense what seemed to be a white flash of Chaos Energy. Turning around, the white Echidna was able to see Shadow the Hedgehog using Chaos Control to teleport all the way to Castle Acorn's throne room.

"It took me almost two minutes to focus a large amount of Chaos Energy to teleport here to Castle Acorn," Shadow explained. "Considering that I was born with the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, it's a gift."

Finitevus glared at Shadow as he motioned to the former Iron King, "Jun Kun?"

The giant bull with the Tremor Mace approached the Ultimate Life Form, the two looking each other in the eye with determination.

"My Tremor Mace has hungered for this day!" Jun Kun grinned. "I owe this city much for the downfall of the Iron Dominion… and my greatest humiliation!"

Shadow rolled his eyes, "You don't look so fearsome."

 **STAGE 2: SHADOW THE HEDEGHOG VS. JUN KUN THE IRON KING**

The two rushed head-first; Shadow's Chaos Powers collided with his Tremor Mace a dozen times, and when they punched each other, they send each other crashing to a wall. Jun Kun got up first and swung his Tremor Mace upward, slamming Shadow up into the air before Jun Kun grabbed and threw him down at the ground. Fortunately, Shadow's Chaos Energy allowed him to endure a lot of damage, and effortlessly pushed himself up.

Shadow was quick to notice that Jun Kun's armor is impenetrable to nearly all attacks, but the softest spot is always the weak spot. Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport himself multiple times, then went for Jun Kun's face, punching it and sending him flying to a wall. The ex-Iron King flew back towards Shadow, who ran forward and smashed Jun Kun in the face, this time adding a lot of force. The attack was strong enough to send Jun Kun crashing to the wall a second time.

Jun Kun picked himself off the ground. He swung his Tremor Mace with all his might and slammed it on the ground, causing an earthquake that nearly shattered the throne room. However, Shadow managed to jump off the massive tremor and perform a Homing Attack on Jun Kun's head. He proceeded to pound away at Jun Kun's face with a series of flying punches and kicks powered by Chaos Energy, until he was finished. With a loud THUD, the ex-Iron King collapsed to the floor, creating a crack below him. Now sure that Jun Kun was out, Shadow turned his attention to Finitevus.

"The former Iron King, Lien-Da, Slueth, and the Battle Lord…" Shadow called. "You're all alone, Dr. Finitevus."

"Geniuses often are," Finitevus sighed.

"Psychopaths like you," Shadow shot back.

"You heroic types are all alike. Even less imposing close-up," Finitevus noted.

"You're testing my patience," Shadow said, charging his Chaos Energy in his right hand and aiming it where he needed to.

"Resigned to playing with toys, are we?" Finitevus smirked as he began moving forward.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow shouted, and he flung his energy attack towards Finitevus, only for the white Echidna to deflect it with a field of dark energy.

"Is that all you have?" Finitevus taunted.

"I've heard so many things about you, Dr. Finitevus," Shadow pointed out. "You're the Echidna scientist who created Enerjak in your attempt to bend the world to your whim."

"I am simply doing this world a favor," Finitevus explained. "A world this corrupt must be cleaned with fire. The world's current legacy poisoned the population's hearts with despair… and hope."

Shadow countered, "And what do you offer? The same as you did long ago when you sided with the Eggman Empire and attacked your own city of Albion."

"Mix the fire with the earth and soil, the fire grows. The legacy of life is death, Shadow," Finitevus said. "Soon, this city will learn the truth and accept it."

"Do your worst!" Shadow dared.

 **STAGE 3: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG VS. DR. FINITEVUS**

Finitevus fired a Chaos Torrent at Shadow, who managed to cancel out the attack with Chaos Spear. Finitevus then used his Warp Ring abilities to speed forward and electrocute Shadow with a torrent of Chaos Dark Thunder before throwing him face-first into the floor. Shadow recovered and fired a torrent of Chaos Spears, followed by a Homing Attack flurry of punches and kicks, repeatedly hitting the white Echidna scientist. Even with the tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy radiating his body a long time ago, Finitevus could still feel pain, and would continue to do so for at least a week. Finitevus then channeled his energy to summon a Chaos Rift attack, which sent Shadow to the ground. Shadow got back up and punched the white Echidna, but Finitevus punched back. The two pushed each other back, ready to go at each other head-first.

"What makes you so special, artificial hedgehog?" Finitevus asked coldly.

"I'm more than you know," Shadow replied with a smirk. "I'm the Ultimate Life Form."

With that, the two clashed, punching and kicking each other. Later, Shadow managed to gain more momentum and easily sent Finitevus flying backwards, then a Homing Attack, and then a flurry of punches and kicks, taking a large amount of Finitevus's health. However, as Shadow rushed to take him out, Finitevus recovered with his Warp Rings, and smashed Shadow four times with Chaos Torrent, ending with a Chaos Rift blast that quickly restrained him. Finitevus then channeled his Chaos Energy to summon a large orb of darkness. He fired it at the black hedgehog, damaging him badly.

However, as Finitevus went in for the kill, Shadow spun his leg, tripping Finitevus and delivering three Homing Attacks, two Chaos Spears, and one fully-charged Chaos Spear that hits straight to the chest up. Finitevus went soaring up before being air-juggled and then slugged hard by another fully-charged Chaos Spear, which took out his remaining energy.

"Try this on, genius," Shadow said, taking out an EMP device created by G.U.N., designed to restrain Chaos Energy.

Before Finitevus could recover, Bunnie and Antoine re-entered and restrained the white Echidna while Shadow simply placed the EMP on him, shutting down his Chaos Energy completely.

"Ah'm gonna say this, black sugar-hog," Bunnie smiled. "Thanks for beatin' 'im up for me and Antoine."

"No thanks needed," Shadow replied coolly.

Sally went to her com-link and said, "This is Sally to Freedom Fighters. How are you guys?"

" _Hey, Sal!_ " Sonic's cheery voice rang. " _It's done. The others are mopping up the mess outside. The Chaotix are taking Krudzu somewhere rock bottom._ "

"Make sure it's _very_ rock bottom," Sally noted.

In the meantime, the Council of Acorn was safely evacuated, while the other villains were forced into a portal created by Nicole, New Mobotropolis's defense artificial intelligence. Suddenly, an alarm suddenly went off, as bright red lights illuminated the castle. Lien-Da, who was the last to be forced in, stopped as she looked confused.

"What's that?" She asked.

"It's the None-of-Your-Business-Alarm, Sis," Julie-Su said sarcastically, shoving Lien-Da into the portal. With the villains captured, Nicole the Holo-Lynx closed the portal and brought up a holographic map of New Mobotropolis. A red dot was displayed at the center.

"Nicole, what's going on?" Sally asked.

"I've detected a radiological signature from King Frederick Airfield," Nicole calculated, zooming in the map. "The two life forms at the center are Dr. Eggman and Snively. Apparently, they were working on a bomb, in which the signatures came from. A nuclear bomb, to be precise."

Sally and her teammates gasped in fear amidst a chuckling Finitevus.

"I can see the headlines," he grinned, "'Freedom Fighters Fail; Mad Scientist Kills Millions…'"

"You gave Robotnik a nuke?!" Sally demanded.

"Most of Mobius's heroes die, and this beloved city is vaporized," Finitevus smiled. "I consolidate the masses by offering to rebuild it. In my own image of cou…"

He got no further when Julie-Su wacked him in the head with the butt of her gun. She noted, "He was done."

"Nicole, get me every com-link available!" Sally commanded, and she spoke through the com-link, "This is Sally to Freedom Fighters and Chaotix! Code Red! I'm sending everyone to these coordinates! Get in there, now!"

"Leave this one to me," Shadow offered. "I'll find the nuke and disarm it before the Doctor detonates it."

"Go, Shadow! We'll join up later!" Sally nodded, as Shadow complied by zooming out of the throne room.

* * *

 **King Fredrick Airfield**

Dr. Eggman and his assistant nephew Snively made the final preparations. The bomb was almost ready to be used.

"Finitevus said remember to…" Eggman said, before he pressed buttons on the control pad. The LED screen on the front of the nuke lit up, reading 'ARMED.' "Ah, there we are."

"Uncle, it works!" Snively smiled. His happiness was replaced with worry when he turned to see Shadow approaching. "Uh-oh…"

"Get back into the Eggdome, Snively," Eggman ordered. "Rally up the Dark Egg Legion and order a retreat."

"But, sir…" Snively tried to interject.

Snively was cut short when Eggman slapped him across the face. His voice grew more harsh as he pointed away, "Just do as I say and get your carcass elsewhere! No one likes a third wheel!"

"Y-Yes, sir," Snively cringed and left quickly, obeying his bossy uncle's orders.

Eggman turned his attention to Shadow, "Ah, Shadow the Hedgehog. My grandfather's creation. My second greatest nemesis, next to that irritating blue hedgehog. I knew that weasel couldn't dispose of you."

"This is the end of the line, Doctor," Shadow said to Eggman coldly. He took a couple of steps forward, until he finally noticed the bomb reading 'ARMED.'

"Why so jumpy, Shadow?" Eggman added. "I merely took it off standby mode." He reached into his pocket, bringing out a remote with a single red button. "It's this button you've got to worry about."

 **Meanwhile…**

Tails, Charmy, and Saffron were flying towards the scene as quickly as possible. They were followed by Amy, who was rushing towards King Fredrick Airfield below riding a motorcycle.

"There they are!" Tails spotted.

"Keep him talking, Shadow," Amy hoped to herself.

"Let's hope my Tornado doesn't get messed up…" Tails hoped to himself as well.

 **A few blocks away…**

Sonic was running as fast as his legs can take him while Knuckles, Khan, Vector, Mighty, Ray, and Espio catch up. Knuckles was gliding, Khan was riding his nimbus cloud with Vector and Mighty, Ray was flying with his one tail, and Espio was leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Don't wait for us, Sonic!" Knuckles shouted. "Go!"

Sonic gave a salute and sped his way forward, zipping past everyone.

 **King Fredrick Airfield**

"You push that button and millions will die," Shadow tried to stall for time.

"How about two more?" Eggman added. Shadow was looking tense as he continued, "I was going to enjoy the fireworks from a safe distance, but since you're here…" He raised the button, "…what say we have one last dance?"

Shadow knew he couldn't afford to hold out any longer. Moving quickly, he went for the detonator as Eggman's thumb went for the button. By this point, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were arriving, trying to stop the mad scientist…

But something strange was going on.

Amy felt it first in her chest. She felt a bit queasy. Suddenly, Knuckles, Khan, and Espio felt the same feeling. They assumed it was just something they ate, but it won't be long before Amy caught a glimpse of blue electricity radiating from her arm. The other heroes showed the same sign. Soon enough, a pulse of blue electricity was forming from the center of where Shadow and Eggman stood. Nobody noticed this as Shadow went for the detonator…

* * *

And then, the two were somewhere else. Regaining his surroundings, Shadow looked around confusedly. It was New Mobotropolis, and yet… it was different. The buildings were greatly changed, now larger, bigger, futuristic, and sporting a dystopian feel to it. The most disturbing fact was the monitors and the commercialized billboards showing a single symbol which resembled a hedgehog's head.

With Shadow distracted, Eggman went for the detonator's button, pressing it…

…and nothing happened.

"What's the matter with this thing?!" Eggman exclaimed in annoyance. He kept pressing the button, but no detonation went off.

* * *

 **Mobius Prime…**

"Uh..." Sonic asked confusedly. "What just happened?"

The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix had been racing to the bomb when out of nowhere, a mysterious surge of energy teleported Eggman, Shadow, Amy, Espio, Knuckles, and Khan away, leaving the rest behind. Additionally, the bomb had not gone off, and the warhead simply disabled on its own.

"I'm not sure, Sonic, but I think today's gonna be a long day," Tails answered.

Sonic and his friends kept looking at the disarmed device strangely.

* * *

 **Alternate Mobius…**

"This is somehow your fault, you worthless rodent!" Eggman accused. "You've ruined everything!"

"This is New Mobotropolis, and yet…" Shadow assumed.

Eggman tried to punch the black hedgehog from behind, but Shadow simply grabbed his hand and twisted it around his back. Shadow then pushed the mad scientist away.

"Maybe I was too sentimental before," Eggman retorted. "I'll be fine without you—"

Before Eggman could act, Shadow delivered a swift punch to his round stomach. He fell to the ground, knocked unconscious.

"Just stay down," Shadow demanded. "And keep quiet."

Shadow's intuition couldn't be more wrong. He could hear sirens in the distance. A horde of vehicles pulled up on the street, dark blue on the hood and car doors, while the bottom part had a light blue color. On the front hood was a logo that featured the Earth circled in blue lines.

Then the soldiers came out; they were neither Mobian royal knights nor G.U.N. agents. Their military outfits are colored blue, and the logo on their arms is outfitted with the same logo featured on the vehicles. Their faces are concealed by helmets and masks with red goggles, which seemed to make them almost lifeless. Upon noticing Shadow, the horde of soldiers took out their rifles and surrounded the black hedgehog and the round doctor respectively.

"Hands up!" The soldiers declared. "Get down on the ground now! You're under arrest!"

Eggman slightly smirked; he would normally be outraged by this event, but was nonetheless happy to see Shadow stuck in a bad situation.

"I said hands up, black hedgehog!" The commanding officer ordered. "Do it or you're dead!"

Shadow simply raised his hands, lulling the soldiers into believing they had beaten him. Little did they know that he was already prepared.

"Chaos…" Shadow chanted.

The soldiers prepared to advance.

"CONTROL!"

With that, Shadow instantly disappeared in a flash of light, much to the confusion of the soldiers (and Eggman). He'd have to come back for the mad scientist, but as of now, he had to escape, since the area would've been too tight to fight in.

 **Later…**

Night had fallen upon New Mobotropolis. Shadow watched from above as more of the soldiers in blue were bringing in a group of people into some sort of prison bus, with the same insignia and color scheme the patrol vehicles have.

"Amateurs," One of the soldiers muttered. "Next time, don't leave your mark."

"They're not Insurgents?" The second soldier asked.

"No," The first one shook his head. "Just some punk kids. Like that Egg Clan idiot we almost had.

"Still can't believe we freakin' lost Shadow," The second soldier remarked.

"Yeah," The first agreed. "Let's hope the big boss doesn't find out."

Shadow was horrified. He now knew for certain something was definitely wrong. He didn't know what it was, but it was very clear about the situation he was in.

"I'm in a nightmare," Shadow said out loud to no one in particular.


	3. The Island Guardian

**Alternate Mobius** ** _…_**

"At times like this, I'm glad I don't feel nauseous," Amy noted, as she stood on the rooftop next to Knuckles, Khan, and Espio. "Uh, no offense, Khan."

"None taken," Khan's eyes darted towards the streets below. "Though given the situation we're in now, I just might be."

"What is this place, anyway?" Amy asked curiously.

"This is Station Square… sort of," Knuckles guessed. "The city looks exactly the same, but it feels… different somehow."

"Let's try to focus," Espio suggested. "We know that we were somehow transported. That leaves us with two options. Either this is a different dimension, or an alternate future where the bomb detonated."

"Like the Moebius incident, right?" Amy asked cheerfully. "I remember the time when the Anti-Amy tried to squash us into pancakes." She shrugged upon remembering that day.

"Whether this is a temporal displacement or an alternate world, we need answers," Khan stated. "I'll go to the Dragon Kingdom and access the archives. If this is an altered timeline, we might find a record of the triggering event there."

Espio stroked his chin, "Assuming there's a Dragon Kingdom."

Amy smiled, "It's worth investigating a big mission, right?"

Khan smiled back, "Right."

"You check it out, then," Knuckles said. "I'll search Station Square City Hall for any clues. Stay low. I'll be back ASAP."

 **Station Square City Hall**

After digging through tight security with his spiked fists, Knuckles emerged from the ground and carefully treaded the hallway. As the red echidna continued pondering the possibilities, he was suddenly distracted by a loud scream coming from a nearby room. As well as familiar voices.

"Pretty tough, are ya?" a feminine voice snorted.

"I ain't afraid of ya..." a male voice replied.

"Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes," a second female voice echoed. One Knuckles definitely recognized.

"Julie-Su?" Knuckles asked. "Bunnie? Fang?"

When Knuckles opened the door, he gasped softly. Fang was there, strapped to a metal slab, but his long canine tooth was gone, and he sports white hair, indicating he's about five years older. Not only that, he didn't have his Stetson hat, and he was wearing a full-body black latex suit.

Bunnie and Julie-Su were there as well, but Knuckles was quick to notice they seemed to have changed their appearance. Bunnie is still wearing her hat, but her cybernetics had spread throughout her arms, legs, and body, and they are colored red and black. Her shoulders are outfitted by tubes channeling red energy through her body, and there was a red cyber eye implant on her right eye. Julie-Su, on the other hand, was wearing a costume of dark purple which exposed her legs and was fitted with a cape covered in feathers, and her skin is colored dark pink instead of light pink. At the very least, her old cybernetics remained the same.

"This is your last chance to accept the High Councilor's amnesty, Fang," Julie-Su said, waving an electrocuting technique from her right hand. Knuckles was surprised that Julie-Su was able to channel electricity from her hand. It might have something to do with her new look.

"Get re-educated in your boot camp?" Fang scoffed. "Be a puppet? Like you?"

Julie-Su didn't respond as she continued torturing him with her electric spell.

Bunnie added, "The boss is bein' generous. Ah wouldn't be. Most of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix died in New Mobotropolis five years ago."

Fang protested, "I had nothin' to do with it…"

Bunnie scowled, "Doesn't matter. You're still on the wrong side of the law."

Fang turned to Julie-Su with a growl, "Tell this to your boss…" With that, he spat in her face. Julie-Su simply zapped Fang, who cried in pain.

Knuckles decided he'd seen enough and quickly threw a punch at his girlfriend (though he didn't want to admit it), releasing Fang from torture. "Is this how things work?" he frowned as Julie-Su and Bunnie spotted him.

"So you're red again?" Bunnie raised an eyebrow.

"Something's not right…" Julie-Su pointed out. "He's Knuckles, but still…"

Knuckles warned, "I don't know if you're the real Julie-Su or not, but you'd have to stand down, if you know what's good for you!"

Bunnie nodded, "Yep. He's definitely not our Knuckles."

"Still, can you feel the pain he's had for the last five years?" Julie-Su said with an evil smirk, something Knuckles had never seen from his girlfriend before. "I don't."

Julie-Su waved her hands with electricity as Knuckles found himself restrained by magical crimson bands. He groaned as he struggled to break free.

"She knows how to use magic, too?" Knuckles said to himself.

"After we're done with Fang, how 'bout the three of us have a lil' chat with the High Councilor?" Bunnie offered.

"Not… gonna… happen!" Knuckles groaned, and with all his might, he broke free of Julie-Su's restraints, knocking the two back.

"Enough! Whoever you are…" Julie-Su said. "You're under arrest!"

 **STAGE 1: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)**

Knuckles began with a punch to Julie-Su's face. Julie-Su groaned in pain, but got back up and used her newly acquired magic – telekinesis – to throw a gas tank at Knuckles. The tank hits him in the face, sending him back a bit. Julie-Su moved in for the kill, but Knuckles was quick to notice a giant cylinder hanging above them. Knuckles leaped up and grabbed the cylinder, pushing it forward, and smashing Julie-Su backwards. Julie-Su recovered, but Knuckles sped to her, flipping her up into the air and repeatedly air-juggling her with a series of punches. After a hundred punches, Knuckles concluded his air combo by doing a double-handed hammer fist and smash Julie-Su to the ground on impact. Julie-Su tried to stand, only to fall unconscious. After the battle, Knuckles looked at Julie-Su's bad state with regret in his eyes.

"Sorry, Julie-Su," Knuckles apologized. He then confronted Bunnie, who just got up. He added, "Guess I won't be getting any more lip from my girl. Now who's this High Councilor? The one who's turned you into a second-rate thug?"

Bunnie gritted her teeth, "Ah'll show YOU second-rate…"

"Talk. You. Now," Knuckles demanded.

"Okay," Bunnie nodded. "Let's talk about the mess o' trouble you're in…" With that, she shoots Knuckles in the gut with her arm cannon, sending him back a few feet. She added, "And how Ah'm gonna knock your head sideways."

 **STAGE 2: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. BUNNIE RABBOT (REGIME)**

Knuckles sped towards Bunnie with a glide and punched her seven times, the last punch directly to the gut. Bunnie gasped for air, allowing Knuckles to jump up a few feet and slam Bunnie's shoulders, knocking her to the ground. Knuckles then grabbed Bunnie by the legs and spun her around before throwing her away. He prepared to grab her again, but this time, Bunnie was ready and she activated her rocket boots. She fired a series of laser blasts, then a flurry of punches and kicks, injuring Knuckles. She threw him to the ground and proceeded to stomp on his head multiple times. Fortunately, Knuckles withheld plenty of strong adversaries, especially his arch-nemesis Enerjak. Because of his connectivity with the Chaos Force, he avoided having his head turned into mush. But it still hurts.

Before Knuckles could react, Bunnie grabbed his right leg and threw him over her head, slamming him to the opposite side of the floor. She threw him in the opposite direction and slammed him into the floor again. Finally, Bunnie picked him up, slammed his back over her kneecap, and finished off with two arm cannons with a combined blast. The red Echidna groaned in pain, but it would take more than that to put this crimson crusader down. Bunnie prepared to punch him again, but Knuckles blocked and pushed her away.

"You're goin' down, sugar!" Bunnie declared, pointing her index finger at him.

"Not today, rabbit!" Knuckles retorted.

The two ran towards each other and clashed each other's fists. Knuckles won the feat of strength and Bunnie was sent flying back. Knuckles then delivered a series of quick blows before Bunnie finally fell in exhaustion.

Knuckles pulled away and smiled, "My head's still on straight."

He walked over to Fang, breaking his restraints with his fists.

"Scumbag… You shoulda killed me…" Fang groaned. Knuckles went over to help him, but he flung his hand away. "Get off me!"

"Look, I'm not with them," Knuckles reasoned honestly.

"Whoever you are, they know you now," Fang frowned. "They've got your scent. They'll catch ya, and you have the stones to refuse their amnesty, even when you're working for the big guy."

"The big guy?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it," Fang elaborated. "Who's the one guy crazy enough to keep guys like them in line?" Knuckles pondered, but seeing as he couldn't answer in the first few minutes, Fang answered for him, "The Big Blue, perhaps?"

"The Big what?" Knuckles questioned.

Before he could answer, Knuckles's communicator rang. " _Knuckles, are you there? Knuckles!_ " Amy's voice called.

"Amy?" Knuckles asked, "What is it?"

 _"_ _You gotta get down here, right away! Metal Sonic's here, and he's attacking a lot of people near the station!_ _"_

"Metal Sonic?!" Knuckles exclaimed, but there was no response. "All right, Fang. You and I are gonna take a little trip…" He turned around, only to find Fang was gone. Knuckles briefly considered going after him, but if Metal Sonic was there, Knuckles knew he had to help.

 **Station Square  
Street Near the Train Station**

Amy Rose had faced many duplicates of Sonic before, but this one she encountered is the most weirdest. This Metal Sonic shares some distinctive traits with his original form, but has a number of differences. His head has five long quills rather than three, white stripes and markings around his eyes, his ear color is red, and his nose color is black. He also possesses more pronounced body armor, with black and curved shoulder plates, large gauntlets and leg armor with pointy knee caps that has white outlines, a plate covering his pelvis and elf-like shoes. He also sports a spiky belt with a black cape that protrudes out of the back of his waist.

Amy was using her hammer to deflect several of Metal Sonic's laser blasts, only to be caught by a large torrent of lightning that lifted her in the air. Espio tried to shoot his kunai, only to destroy them with an invisible barrier, releasing a powerful shockwave that pushed him to a wall.

"I'll be happy to see Espio the Chameleon die again," Metal Sonic laughed as he channeled a large, powerful orb and sent it towards Espio. Before the blast could connect, Knuckles intercepted the ball and smashed it away with his right fist, and his left fist hits Metal Sonic in the face, forcing him to drop Amy.

Metal Sonic looked where the attacks came from, "Amy Rose, Espio the Chameleon, and now Knuckles the Echidna. Three worthy adversaries to terminate, and more data to copy."

He concentrated and suddenly, his right hand turned into a torrent of large, deadly, electric-powered tentacles. He sent them towards Knuckles, who simply destroyed the tentacles with his fists. Knuckles held the last tentacle, pulled it along with Metal Sonic towards him, and punched the robot in the face.

"Sorry to keep the party waiting, Metal Sonic!" Knuckles smirked.

"It's Neo Metal Sonic now," the robot corrected. "Indeed, I was created for the sole purpose of destroying my loathsome copy, Sonic the Hedgehog. But the One-Planet Government was generous enough to increase my power. With their help, I transformed my body and combined your data with the power of Chaos, increasing my strength ten-fold. No enemies can possibly withstand me."

"So serving Eggman wasn't enough?" Knuckles asked.

Neo Metal Sonic explained, "The One-Planet Government is similar to my creator's Eggman Empire. An alliance between Mobians and robots was logical. So for now, I tolerate fleshlings. Even Sonic the Hedgehog."

"What?" Knuckles asked confused.

"As do all who wish to live," Neo Metal Sonic added.

 **STAGE 3: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. NEO METAL SONIC (REGIME)**

Knuckles backed up from Neo Metal Sonic as he dashed towards him. However, Knuckles was lulling him into a false sense of security, and this resulted in Knuckles countering by hitting the machine with a series of quick blows from his spiked fists, knocking Neo Metal Sonic back. The last punch sent Neo Metal Sonic crashing into a wall on the opposite end of the street. Neo Metal Sonic quickly recovered, but Knuckles threw a lamp post he grabbed from the street and swung it, sending him flying. Neo Metal Sonic flew back and spun his leg around, sending Knuckles to the ground as he punched a Chaos Fist into his gut. Knuckles caught the next punch and pulled back, punching him hard again. Knuckles then pumped himself up and unleashed a hundred-fist technique, decimating Neo Metal Sonic with a rain of punches. The last punch was incredibly powerful enough to subdue Sonic's robotic duplicate.

"Insufficient data… Unable to continue… Function ceased…" Neo Metal Sonic said in monotone, who collapsed and ceased to function.

Knuckles stated, "I'm resisting arrest… again." He went over to Amy and helped her up, "You okay?"

"Knuckles!" Amy gasped.

Knuckles spun around to see what his friend was talking about. Then his face widened with fear at the new arrival landing near them. Knuckles immediately recognized the mysterious figure…

" **ENERJAK!** " Knuckles screamed. It was the same malevolent Chaos demigod that tried to conquer Mobius at it was eons past… and Knuckles's worst enemy. He led the Dark Legion of Echidnas in his bid for world conquest, only to be defeated by Hyper Knuckles, who used Dimitri's Chaos Syphon to destroy him and covert his godlike powers into energy to feed the Master Emerald. Sometime later, Dr. Finitevus researched into bringing Enerjak back to life as a means to purge the world, and by planting a powerful dark hex on the Master Emerald, he manipulated Knuckles into touching it, and Enerjak's return came quickly. The Knuckles-turned Enerjak was a puppet enforced by Finitevus's will, forced to wreak havoc on Mobius on his behalf. That is, until Super Sonic came along and purged the evil that changed him into the Chaos demigod.

That incident was something Knuckles wanted to forget more than ever, and he wanted to get away from his dark past. However, it unexpectedly finds him again when the Chaos demigod stood in front of him.

"Correct, Knuckles the Echidna," Enerjak declared. "It is I, Enerjak, God of Chaos. And I have returned to create a world free of corruption, a world free of pain and suffering."

Amy exclaimed, "Whoa! So Knuckles is working with Metal Sonic now?"

Knuckles gritted his teeth, "I don't know why you're here, or where you came from, but you don't belong here!" He ran towards Enerjak with a thunderous battle cry, but with the swish of his hand, the Chaos demigod swatted him away with tremendous Chaos Energy.

"Knuckles!" Amy cried.

Enerjak chuckled amusingly, "Such bravado for a red echidna! You remind me…" Unexpectedly, he took off the mask concealing his face, "…of when I was you."

When Knuckles slowly recovered, Enerjak's revealed identity confirmed his worst fears; it was him! It was another version of Knuckles the Echidna who assumed the mantle of Enerjak.

"Oh, and by the way, did someone call my name?" the alternate Knuckles asked.

" **YOU'RE ENERJAK?!** " Mainstream Knuckles demanded.

"Finitevus was right," Alternate Knuckles responded. "Being a Chaos demigod is a much more better way of living, as opposed to being an simple red Echidna."

"How could you?" Knuckles asked angrily. "You allowed yourself to be Enerjak, this monster of a freak of nature?!"

Alternate Knuckles nodded, "Only this time, of my own free will. We used the same hex Finitevus placed on the Master Emerald, and through various experimentations, the transformation was quick. Turning into Enerjak again, I'm using my powers for a new purpose. To help the One-Planet Government bring peace, order, and justice to all of Mobius."

Mainstream Knuckles scoffed, "By become a pawn again? So, that's how it's been. You ditched your responsibilities as a Guardian and wore a mask. The persona of cowardice."

Knuckles flung a series of fists at his alternate self, but Enerjak was able to block them all and shove him away.

"I'm still about order, like the Guardians," Alternate Knuckles stated as he wore his mask again.

While Amy moves out of the way to help Espio, Enerjak noticed this and managed to attack her with a wave of Chaos Energy, breaking his showdown with his duplicate for a while. Knuckles punched his alternate self in the face, backing him down.

"I'm sure the Guardians will be proud of you to see you wearing the clothes of their worst enemy," Knuckles spoke sarcastically. "Your dad, your mom, Remington, Archimedes, your whole kind…"

Enerjak deadpanned, "Sanctimony's easy if you know what—"

"Save it!" Knuckles told his duplicate. "Time to knock some sense into me!"

 **STAGE 4: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. ENERJAK (REGIME)**

"There!" Enerjak shouted, firing a beam of Chaos Energy. Fortunately, Knuckles was able to avoid the blast with a dodge roll. Knuckles threw a punch towards his Enerjak-self, who grabbed his arm, threw him back, and stunned him with his Thunder Arrow attack. Enerjak dashed into Knuckles, punched him multiple times, grabbed him by the neck, and fired an energy blast, sending his duplicate flying. Knuckles groaned as his alternate self laughed proudly, seeing his Mainstream self in pain.

" _Man, he's tough! He's me in this world, but he's Enerjak,_ " Knuckles thought to himself. " _If only I'm Hyper Knuckles, I'll easily destroy him… I'll just have to knock him out for now. It's risky, but it's worth a try!_ " His eyes directed towards his evil self, " _Okay, Enerjak-me. Let's go._ "

Knuckles jumped up, dug underground with his spiked fists, and emerged from the ground with a strong uppercut to Enerjak's chin, taking off his mask. Knuckles took his chance to punch Enerjak three times with all his might. Before Enerjak could retaliate, Knuckles punched him into a gas tank which exploded and sent Enerjak flying into a series of buildings before he landed on a rooftop after hitting a water tank. Knuckles climbed up there and delivered a swift combo punch to his alternate self's face, before Enerjak broke the combo. It was then that Knuckles noticed something.

"Do I smell something bad from your suit?" Knuckles asked.

"Shut your mouth!" Enerjak yelled.

The two flew at each other before Knuckles was able to punch Enerjak back. Before he could get up, Knuckles punched his opposite self into the opposite building. Enerjak attempted to recover, but a wrecking ball flung by, crushing Enerjak as he fell onto the track of the train station below. Before he could do anything else, Enerjak heard a noise and looked to see a train coming.

"Oh, sh—" Enerjak muttered before the train collided with his body, sending him off the tracks and flying into a neon billboard, exploding on impact. The destruction of the neon billboard seemed strong enough to render Enerjak unconscious… for now. Knuckles jumped down to the street where Amy and Espio stood. He smiled and removed sweat from his face, masking his uneasiness.

"Well, that was surreal," Knuckles stated. "I didn't even transform into Hyper Knuckles for this fight." He then scoffed, "I bet in this world, Enerjak's power was weak."

"This is getting stranger and stranger," Amy said as she and Espio joined Knuckles.

"I agree," Espio nodded. "You were the Chaos demigod when Finitevus warped your mind."

"Yeah," Knuckles agreed with Espio. "All this Chaos is really tough on the eyes, even for me."

The group heard sirens coming from afar.

"We need to move," Espio suggested. The three fled the scene into a nearby alleyway.

"On the run from the cops…" Amy pouted. "Aren't there any good guys around here?"

As they turned a corner, they saw a familiar figure. It was the figure of a black hedgehog, but he was battle-scarred, wrapped in bandages, and his right eye is concealed by an eye patch. It seemed like he himself had been through five years of conflict, turmoil, and pandemonium.

"There just might be," Espio stated.

* * *

 **Mobius Prime…  
Freedom Fighter HQ**

Sonic and Sally entered Freedom Fighter HQ's computer room where Tails, Rotor, Bunnie, and Nicole were working with holographic images doing various equations.

"Hey, guys!" Sonic greeted his fellow Freedom Fighters. "Just came back after doing the city a big cleaning. All in a day's work!"

"Still got nothing, Nicole?" Sally asked.

Nicole explained, "The energy signature from King Fredrick Airfield doesn't match anything in the database. Why don't I use my nanites to vibrate at the same frequency as the energy signature?"

"Beats me," Tails shrugged. "We don't know if they went somewhere dangerous."

"Or if they went anywhere at all," Rotor added. "Nicole may be right; it's too risky."

"Well, that's just great," Sonic sighed. "If only I was fast enough to catch them in the first place…"

"It's okay, Sonic," Sally assured with a smile, putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "They're our friends, and we can't just leave them behind. We'll find them. We have to."


	4. The King of the Free People

**Alternate Mobius…**

 **The Dragon Kingdom  
Temple of the Golden Lotus**

Monkey Khan was relived as he dismounted from his nimbus cloud and saw that indeed, the Temple of the Golden Lotus was still standing where it ought to be. Everything was the same since the Dragon Kingdom was liberated from the Iron Dominion, down to the last brick and detail. Still, Khan could sense something was off as he approached the temple gates.

"Nothing has changed," Khan said to himself. "But why is everything the way it was? Has the Iron Queen conquered the Four Ninja Clans again?" He walked inside to see the same beautiful structure of the Dragon Kingdom's revered shrine built in honor of the ancient Golden Lotus King.

That's when he saw a familiar face walk up towards him.

"Li Yuen!" Khan greeted the lion in blue Chinese clothing in front of him.

"A pleasure most rare, Your Highness," Li Yuen bowed his head in respect. Khan was positive this is the same Li Yuen, royal advisor to the King of the Free People. He was uneasy at first, but then again, he figured he could use this to his advantage.

Khan instructed, "I need historical records of recent events, as well the world's current structure."

"Ah, for the treaty negotiations with the High Councilor?" Li Yuen asked. "His envoys are expected to meet you at the castle."

Khan had no idea what Li Yuen was talking about, but nodded in agreement, "Why, yes. The treaty discussions." Anything that could help him understand would be useful.

"I'm afraid our resources are limited," Li Yuen admitted as they walked down the shrine's hallway. "Sonic has been less than willing to reveal his regime's inner workings."

 _"_ _Sonic?!"_ Khan exclaimed in his mind. " _He's this so-called 'High Councilor?!'"_ His thoughts returned to Li Yuen, _"_ Tell me everything you know. Recount the events of his ascension." The royal advisor confusedly stared at Khan, but the King of the Free People made his comeback, "A thorough review might illuminate new strategies for negotiation."

"I am humbled, Sire," Li Yuen bowed sincerely. The two continued their walk further down the temple grounds.

Li Yuen began, "Five years ago, the scientist conqueror, Dr. Robotnik, deceived Sonic the Hedgehog into killing his wife and unborn children and simultaneously destroying New Mobotropolis. Consumed by grief, Sonic killed Dr. Robotnik."

" _Sonic killed Robotnik? New Mobotropolis destroyed? He's already married?"_ Khan thought to himself in confusion. " _And here, I thought he was still righteous and pure…"_ He then replied to Li Yuen, "Yes… We all remember where we were that day. Go on."

"Afterward, he showed no restraint," Li Yuen continued. "Judge, jury, and executioner, he and other like-minded Mobians quickly reined in the criminal element."

"Which made him quite popular," Khan guessed.

"This planet was desperate for strong leadership," Li Yuen replied. "Sonic consolidated his power and created the One-Planet Government. Democratic institutions were swept away."

"Sire?" A voice called.

Khan turned and gasped. It was Li Moon! But… why was the red-furred fox girl dressed in royal clothing?

"Your Highness?" Li Moon said. "Sorry to interrupt you, but the High Councilor's envoys await you in the throne room."

Khan sighed. He'd have to play along and hope that an alternate version of himself didn't come back soon. He could get more information at this rate.

 **The Royal Castle of the Free People  
Throne Room**

Khan entered the castle's magnificent shining throne room to discover two familiar faces awaiting him. Miles "Tails" Prower and Vector the Crocodile. However, Tails was wearing a red leather jacket and a new hairstyle, and Vector was wearing a black and red uniform, the headphones in his ears replaced by a hood covering his head. They look happy to see the King of the Free People approaching.

"Tails, Vector," Khan greeted with a smile. "Welcome."

Both envoys bowed in response. Tails was the first to speak, "Your Highness, it's an honor to meet you."

Vector added, "This is the first time I've ever been to the Dragon Kingdom."

"Yes," Khan responded. "We have important matters to discuss. The treaty."

Tails held a flat folder under his right arm as he took it out. "The final draft," he said. "We're all glad you've agreed to Sonic's terms, Your Highness."

"May I?" Khan held his hand out.

Tails handed the treaty as Khan opened it. At first, it was a simple deal of offering health and security benefits for the Dragon Kingdom. But as Khan reached the bottom, he suddenly noticed something completely unsettling. His expression changed into a frown.

"Is there a problem, Your Highness?" Vector observed Khan's uneasiness with Tails.

"This is complete subjugation!" Khan shouted with outrage, closing the treaty. "Sonic will rule the Dragon Kingdom!"

Tails stated, "It's what you agreed to. It's what we expect."

"Are you threatening me?" Khan glared, his thunder staff sparking furiously. "Tread carefully."

"We have our orders," Tails shook his head. "I'm sorry, Khan."

With that, Vector lunged to tackle him while Tails sent out a shock blast from his Buster Arm Cannon. Khan anticipated this and rolled from the blast, which instead hits Vector. Khan fired a blast from his thunder staff towards Tails with enough force to make him cry in pain and stagger back.

"You can tell Sonic…" Khan declared. "He will NOT have the Dragon Kingdom!"

 **STAGE 1: MONKEY KHAN VS. MILES "TAILS" PROWER (REGIME)**

Tails fired a laser beam at Khan, who was able to deflect it with his staff. Khan boarded his nimbus cloud and performed an electrocuting dash swing, knocking Tails down. Before Tails could get back up, Khan stunned him with a thunder attack, grabbed him, and threw him over his head. Tails tried to get his second wind, but Khan kicked him through the door and into the hallway of the castle. As Tails recovered, a brawl of Arm Cannon blasts and thunder staff strikes ensued, destroying the exquisite hallway around them.

When the smoke cleared after many explosions and such, Khan swung his staff at Tails, forcing him to fly backwards towards the wall. Khan was about to finish him off when Tails fully-charged his Buster Arm Cannon and fired, shoving Khan back. Before Khan could recover, Tails punched him with a strong uppercut before throwing him to the ground and firing a stinger missile at his back.

Khan got back up, popped his nimbus cloud, and flew towards Tails, delivering a series of combos with his staff. The final swing was charged with lightning, crashing Tails back to the throne room, where he fell to the ground, exhausted.

Khan frowned, "I say to heck with your orders."

Vector popped back up and punched Khan in the chest, making him stumble back.

"Let's not make a big mess out of this," Khan tried to reason. "I just want to talk to Sonic."

"You don't _talk_ to Sonic," Vector threatened. "You do what he wants! And you're gonna do what you promised!"

 **STAGE 2: MONKEY KHAN VS. VECTOR THE CROCODILE (REGIME)**

Vector attempted to punch Khan, but the monkey swung his staff and crashed him to a nearby statue. Khan then released a torrent of lightning from his staff and lunged right at Vector, smashing him with a 10-hit combo. However, much to Khan's surprise, Vector endured the lightning that scorched his skin and uniform and kept up perfectly with the King of the Free People. Nonetheless, Khan continued to swing away at Vector, hoping to subdue him. Eventually, Vector punched him back as the two faced each other down.

"You're under arrest!" Vector shouted.

"The Four Ninja Clans couldn't hold me, so what chance do you have?" Khan retorted.

The two lunged at each other with Khan's staff colliding with Vector's fist. However, Vector was pushed back by the intensity of the thunder staff's lightning, meaning Khan got the upper hand. He charged his lightning staff, this time, firing a thunder-bolt shaped blast, electrocuting Vector and crashing him to another statue. Vector got up again, only to fall back down, defeated.

"You two are the worst excuse for diplomats I've ever seen," Khan retorted with a smile.

His confidence was put on hold when the throne room's doors thrust open, revealing another Monkey Khan. It was almost an exact duplicate, except his hair is black mixed with white, and his purple uniform has the flair of a Chinese Emperor with a red velvet cape. He was accompanied with an army of Yagyu ninjas surrounding his Mainstream counterpart.

"There he is, Sire!" one of the Yagyu pointed to Mainstream Khan. Regime Khan was not amused to see his duplicate.

"Well, then," Khan realized nonchalantly. "Parallel dimension it is."

Regime Khan demanded, "Who do you work for, usurper?! Regina Ferrum? Conquering Storm?"

Khan answered, "I am Ken Khan, King of the Free People and protector of the Dragon Kingdom! I answer to no one! Unlike you."

"Mind your tongue," Regime Khan glared.

"I see you've become one of Sonic's lackeys," Khan pointed out. "Did joining this so-called regime make you unworthy as a king?"

"It matters not!" Regime Khan responded. "I conquered all Four Ninja Clans and made them submit to my rule. Therefore, I am now the true ruler of the Dragon Kingdom!"

"Then you've become no different than the Iron Queen! Have you not learned anything?!" Khan's anger grew further.

Regime Khan never lost his cool edge, "On the contrary, the destruction of Sonic's home of New Mobotropolis taught me one thing; sacrifices must be made for the greater good. The people of this world cannot be trusted unless they are ruled by strong-willed leaders like himself."

"So you would give away your kingdom, and your people, like they were worn boots? To a dysfunctional hedgehog?" Khan accused.

"The treaty requires Sonic to maintain Mobius's nations. And recognize our autonomy."

"But you're risking innocent lives! You'll put the whole kingdom at his beck and call!"

"A necessary compromise."

"More like appeasement!"

Regime Khan couldn't answer, as he is now irritated at his counterpart's remark. "I've had enough of this. Yagyu! Take him!" he ordered the ninjas.

First, a Yagyu tried to attack, but failed as Monkey Khan swung his staff and swatted the ninja away. The second Yagyu followed suit, but was also defeated. Then the third. Fourth. And the rest. None were a match for Mainstream Khan's ferocity and ability. With no guards left to assist him, Regime Khan decides to take down Mainstream Khan himself. They both end up into a hand-to-hand/staff-to-staff duel, which Mainstream Khan easily knocked him down.

"You know, I planned to offer you help," Mainstream Khan said, charging his staff. "I changed my mind."

"Enough of this!" Regime Khan growled, charging his own staff. "Are we going to fight, or are we just going to talk all day?"

"Yes," Khan nodded. "Let's do that."

 **STAGE 3: MONKEY KHAN VS. MONKEY KHAN (REGIME)**

The fight began with a colossal clash of thunder staffs, the lightning furiously spreading throughout the castle. When the clash receded, Khan dashed forward with his nimbus cloud, smashing Regime Khan's chest with a charged staff attack.

Regime Khan growled and swung at his duplicate, but Khan jumped, generated a thunder spell from above, and smashed it to the forehead of his duplicate self. Regime Khan groaned as he recovered, before lunging at Mainstream Khan. However, Mainstream Khan jumped above his duplicate and smashed him through three castle walls. Before Regime Khan could respond, Mainstream Khan fired a thunder blast, scorching his duplicate's skin and causing him to scream in pain.

"You have no chance!" Khan taunted his Regime duplicate, swinging his staff and hitting him in the back. Another attack, but Regime Khan pushed him back as they prepared to clash.

"You dishonor the Free People!" Khan pointed out.

"I'm protecting the Free People!" Regime Khan retorted.

The two clashed, each of them striking the other's thunder staffs. The collision was strong enough to create a thunder-induced shockwave that destroyed a large part of the castle. Regime Khan was pushed back as a result, and Mainstream Khan seized this opportunity to finish his opponent off with his ultimate technique.

" **Tumultuous Thunderclap of the Enraged!** " Khan focused all of his energy into his staff, creating a tremendous charge of lightning that decimated his Regime counterpart, and destroyed another large part of the castle as a result, causing him to finally go down. Mainstream Khan stood in triumph.

"Now let's discuss a revised foreign policy…" Khan offered.

Before he could react, thousands of ninjas hailing from the Four Ninja Clans poured in.

"KILL HIM!" Regime Khan yelled.

As some of the ninjas were about to attack, a red glow suddenly formed everyone, except Khan, freezing them in their tracks.

"What the?!" Khan exclaimed. He waved a hand in front of one Yagyu, and even hit one to the point of falling down like a statue. Neither of them fazed.

Just then, a new figure appeared. He was a tall, brown-furred mammoth wearing a purple tuxedo and tie and holding a cane in his right hand. He spoke in a low, yet amused tone, "They do tend to fight first, don't they? Though I may have stoked the fires a bit…"

"Mammoth Mogul," Khan glared. "What are you doing here?"

"I feed on conflict and chaos," Mogul explained. "Until today, I've been starving. I sensed the return of aggression, and sought its cause."

Khan pointed out, "You did more than that. You brought us here."

"Me?" Mogul laughed. "No, King of the Free People. That was not me. But I can guess who did."

"Answer me!" Khan demanded.

"You dare to presume to command me?" Mogul's anger built up.

"I do," Khan nodded. "And you will obey!"

 **STAGE 4: MONKEY KHAN VS. MAMMOTH MOGUL (PARALLEL)**

Mogul shot a blast of magical energy at Khan, who easily deflected it with his staff and then swung at him. However, Mogul teleported behind Khan and electrocuted him with a wave of green energy. Khan quickly recovered and lunged at Mogul, kicking his knee and catching the Ancient Mobian to fall to the ground. Khan charged his thunder staff and swung towards Mogul's chest, smashing it with a torrent of lightning and causing him to cry in pain.

" _Something's not right,_ " Khan thought to himself. " _Mammoth Mogul is a nearly omnipotent being as they say, yet I can beat him easily._ _"_

Khan was ready to strike again, but the Ancient Mobian's eyes suddenly glowed green as he gave off a bright green light, and had an unsettling grin on his face. Before Khan had time to react, three more versions of Mogul appeared. They all proceeded to punch and kick Khan around to each other, until they all pointed their fingers at him, and unleashed a powerful combined magic blast on the King of the Free People. The other three Moguls disappeared as the Ancient Mobian dashed in for another attack, but Khan blocked and pushed him back.

"Why prolong your suffering, monkey?" Mogul asked with a smirk.

"You're the one who's going to suffer first," Khan replied.

The two dashed towards each other as Khan's thunder staff collided with Mogul's fists. Khan won the clash and executed a 15-hit combo until the Ancient Mobian finally collapsed.

"You're weak, Mammoth Mogul," Khan pointed out. "What happened to you?"

Mogul explained as he got back on his feet, "It all began after Dr. Ivo Robotnik tricked Sonic the Hedgehog into slaying his own family, and with it, his home city, and everything he cared about. I admit, I was intrigued by Sonic's suffering… but as I watched it grow, I realized the path he took was… inconvenient for me. Ruling undisputed as High Councilor, Sonic's reign has nearly eliminated conflict. Left me virtually powerless."

"So, if you didn't bring us here, who did?" Khan asked.

Mogul answered, "Those who would end Sonic's rule. The Insurgents."

"Heroes?" Khan asked again.

"Only three," Mogul corrected. "All other heroes who challenged Sonic have been eliminated."

"He killed them," Khan guessed, stroking a chin. "And the only ones left are those who joined him?"

Mogul added, "Along with a small cadre of former villains, whose loyalty was bought… or coerced."

"I need to join my friends," Khan pleaded.

Mogul explained, "They're with the Insurgents as we speak."

Khan walked up to the Ancient Mobian, "Send me to them."

* * *

 **The Insurgency HQ**

Espio the Chameleon's eyes darted the light blue pill in-between his fingers. He was about to ingest it when Monkey Khan appeared in a bright green flash.

"How'd you get here?" Knuckles asked.

"Mammoth Mogul," Khan replied, much to everyone's surprise. Knuckles was about to say something before Khan elaborated, "Not our Mogul."

"We know," Amy understood. "Meet 'Not-our-Shadow-and-Hope-Kintobor.'"

The doors opened and out stepped Shadow and Hope, five years older than the ones Amy and her friends knew. Additionally, Shadow's body was wrapped in bandages, his fur scarred, his right eye patched, and his ring bracelets cracked.

"It's good to finally get you here, Monkey Khan," Insurgency Shadow said. "I was wondering how to retrieve you from the Dragon Kingdom."

Khan nodded and turned to Espio, who ingested the pill. "Headache?" he asked.

"Trying to prevent one," Espio told him.

"It's a durability enhancer," Shadow explained. "C-4-A-08."

"How can a pill allow—" Khan began, before Shadow cut him off.

"The power of the Chaos Emeralds combined with nanotech as a result of the planet's most brilliant minds," Shadow explained. "It increases the tensile strength of bone and tissue structures by a factor of several thousand, giving anybody who takes it additional superhuman strength and durability."

Amy added as they all took seats around a table computer, "Apparently, Shadow 'borrowed' the recipe from Sonic, who's a total jerk in this world and not the dreamy hedgehog I've always fallen in love with." She sighed dreamily at mentioning the hedgehog of her dreams, before she focused, "Sonic usually gives this stuff to his flunkies."

Khan nodded, "Yes. I've met a couple of our evil twins."

"They're not evil," Shadow corrected. "Most of them obey Sonic out of fear, or have lost perspective and believe he's doing the right thing."

"So you and Hope are the only ones left?" Knuckles asked.

"No," Khan shook his head. "Mogul told me there were three."

"And here I am now…" Another familiar voice echoed.

Everyone with the exception of Shadow and Hope spun their heads around. They were heavily surprised to see the figure of Dr. Finitevus approaching them.

"Dr. Finitevus?!" Espio exclaimed shockingly.

"How are you even alive?!" Knuckles shouted angrily.

Shadow assured, "It's alright. He's with me." Finitevus nodded his head.

But Espio was having none of it. He angrily drew his kunai directly at Finitevus's throat, screaming, "He's with you?! Why does a villain like him have to be on your side?! He is the one who created Enerjak!"

Finitevus didn't flinch; instead he gently pushed the kunai away. He addressed, "Yes, it is true. I created the hex around the Master Emerald as the basis to transform Knuckles into Enerjak, but only when I was kidnapped and forced by the Dark Legion to perform the dangerous experiment. They sought to use Enerjak as a means to conquer Mobius. I feared my research would bring harm to anyone, especially Knuckles, who I mean no harm."

Knuckles tried to ask, "What are you talking—"

Finitevus interrupted as he continued his story, "Unlike your Dr. Finitevus, I've never indulged in crime or world domination. But yes, I was exposed to a massive surge of Chaos Energy during the crisis in Albion. Despite the vast amounts that mutated my body, I retained my sanity and free will. And deciding I can use my new powers for good, I gained mastery over the Chaos Force and attached Warp Rings to my arms and legs as a means of faster travel."

He took a seat, "As soon as my research saw much success throughout Mobius, I was praised as one of the planet's most brilliant minds. I married a female Echidna and had children. And though I was aware of the disastrous results my research could bring, my faith in Mobius and its people is strong."

"So great was my genius intellect and my field on the Chaos Force that Sonic was compelled to recruit me as the One-Planet Government's chief funder and scientific advisor. But like others, I did not see Sonic's reign as a force for good. The way I see him, the former hero of Mobius has been reduced to a tyrant… much ruthless than Dr. Eggman ever was. He thinks he's a god. He thinks he's invincible." His voice grew with disgust, unable to stand Sonic. He motioned to Shadow and Hope, "Sonic doesn't suspect that his 'best friend' is funding the Insurgency."

"Dr. Finitevus's involvement is a secret," Shadow added. "Anyone critical against Sonic disappear. Government officials, activists, reporters…"

"Well, now that we're all here, can you give us the rundown on why you brought us here?" Amy asked, as Shadow and Hope took their seats. "And why you didn't ask us before? We were kinda busy."

"The nuclear bomb? It didn't go off in your world," Finitevus explained. "Your transfer prevented it, and we made sure of that. You see, we've been monitoring your world from quite some time. A few of you, specifically. I created a wormhole device using fair amounts of Chaos Energy to bring you here."

"What for?" Amy asked curiously.

"G.U.N. had a plan that requires you Freedom Fighters," Shadow said. "Before the organization was destroyed, they managed to create a weapon to take down Sonic. A Master Emerald-powered laser than can…"

The Mainstream heroes were shocked about this. Amy most of all, "Wait a minute! A Master Emerald-powered laser?!"

Knuckles added, "If you kill him, you're no better than he is."

"I didn't say 'kill,'" Shadow replied. "It'll incapacitate him, nothing more. The weapon's in the abandoned G.U.N. headquarters. I'm going to need a Freedom Fighter's DNA to unlock it."

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis  
One-Planet Government Headquarters**

Outside the One-Planet Government's headquarters, built ten times larger than the previously destroyed Castle Acorn, a news report details the public execution of a criminal who stole money for his family's welfare in the streets of New Mobotropolis. The ceremony was arranged by none other than the Regime version of Amy Rose, not dressed in her usual pink skirt, but a glittering sleeveless pink gown with a high collar and pink cape, and her hair is tied in a braid.

Regime Amy declared, "Citizens of Mobotropolis! The criminal, Michael the Porcupine, has been found guilty of stealing money from various stores, including my personal favorite store from Station Square. The sentence: death!" She turned to the captured criminal strapped to a stockade with a sly smirk, "It's time for you to accept the consequences of your crime. You think that stealing is right. How wrong and foolish you were. You're on the wrong side of the law, and that side doesn't belong in our world. Any last words?"

Michael the Porcupine turned to his family standing within the audience, who watched the scene unfold with a mixture of sadness and grief. With tears streaming his eyes, he said his final words, "Myra… Elisa… Mark… Take care of yourselves, and take care of your mom. Don't forget that I love you all… You're a very loving family… Good-bye."

And thus, Regime Amy pulled out her weapon of choice; not the Piko Piko Hammer, but an absurdly large spiked mallet similar to what Rosy the Rascal held in Moebius, the Anti-Mobius. With a single swing, Michael's head was mashed into a puddle of blood, which is too gruesome to see for the gathering of people. His family took it the hardest.

Satisfied with her work, Regime Amy retreated back inside the Regime's headquarters. She mercilessly killed a criminal by her own hands, and she will gladly kill more if needed. The citizens departed and resumed their daily lives. No one ever dared question the authority of the One-Planet Government, and the price for doing so would be their lives.

 **Inside…**

Sonic the Hedgehog, the leader of the One-Planet Government and self-appointed High Councilor of Mobius, eyed his latest prisoner with gladness. Earlier today, his forces had succeeded bringing in Chaos Zero, the guardian spirit residing within the Master Emerald on Angel Island. It took a while to salvage the liquefied spirit from the Master Emerald, but Chaos Zero was easily brought in, just like anyone else who resisted Sonic's regime.

With the exception of the Insurgency, of course. But Sonic was confident that the resistance will be captured, and the rebellion will end soon enough.

Sonic could have easily destroyed Chaos Zero, but he soon realized he could prove much more helpful if a greater threat ever emerged. Instead, Sonic ordered the One-Planet forces to restrain and drug Chaos Zero for the last nine hours. In that time, Dr. Finitevus managed to use his intellect in the Chaos Force to alter and control Chaos Zero's mind, turning the liquefied monster into a mindless puppet. In addition, Finitevus fed Chaos Zero all seven Chaos Emeralds, transferring all of their negative energy into his body and transforming him into Perfect Chaos, the ultimate form. In order to keep Perfect Chaos's powers in check should they spiral out of control, Finitevus created a Chaos-powered prison to restrain his gigantic watery body.

Sonic finished checking the remote on Perfect Chaos's prison given to him by Finitevus, confirming everything worked perfectly. "Wonderful," he said to himself.

At that moment, Regime Amy entered his room, greeting Sonic, "Greetings, High Councilor. I apologize for the delay. I had to host an execution ceremony, and duty calls." She eyed Perfect Chaos in his prison, "Dr. Finitevus's device is working? That's great! 'Convincing' Chaos Zero to join our cause isn't going to help."

Sonic nodded, "Uh-huh."

Amy continued, "I came to report that Knuckles—"

Sonic cuts her off, "…was on his way in? He's already here." He couldn't be more wrong as Enerjak (Alternate Knuckles) entered his office with a courteous smile.

"High Councilor Sonic," Enerjak greeted. He turned to Amy, "Nice look, Assistant High Councilor Amy."

Both smiled at Enerjak's comment; Amy blushed while Sonic nodded silently. And speaking of Amy's position as Assistant High Councilor, she is the High Councilor's second-in-command and in charge of the One-Planet Government's clandestine operations.

Enerjak spoke in a normal tone, "We have a problem. I… ran into Amy's twin…" Sonic and Amy were confused. "Someone who looked a lot like Espio… And someone who looks almost _exactly_ like me."

Sonic's eyebrows raised in concern. Something was off if there was anyone masquerading as his Regime followers. He turned to Enerjak with a serious expression, "Find them, and any others that might be out there. I need to know everything. If you see anyone resembling you or Amy or anyone else, you and the others have permission to arrest them on sight. Report immediately when you do."

Enerjak nodded and walked away from Sonic's office. The two hedgehogs are now alone.

Amy looked to see Sonic wearing a multicolored sleeved uniform where lines were drawn at the center and painted silver, and the One-Planet emblem was slightly larger on his chest. His suit also sported nano-fiber patterns, and like Amy, he is wearing a cape, but colored blue.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Amy asked slyly.

Sonic let out a soft chuckle, "Go on."

She sat on Sonic's desk, trying to flirt with him. The room was silent for quite some time. "Are you okay with this? With us?"

Sonic looked away. Amy knew he was still reeling, even after five years. She decided to get to the point, "Sonic, I know I'm not Sally, and I never will be. But the explosion Eggman caused five years ago… it's changed my perspective too. It made me realize how right you are and how you can be at times. I know it's wrong to say, but…"

Sonic suddenly caught her off-guard by grabbing her into his body and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was so tender. The two hedgehogs sweetly caressed the flavor of their lips until they pulled away.

"There's no need, Amy," Sonic smiled. "And you're right. Perhaps I do need something else in my life now."

Amy smiled back, caressing a hand on Sonic's cheek, "Thank you for understanding, sweetie."

"Shall we continue this in my quarters?" Sonic asked flirtingly.

"Oh, yes. Let's," Amy agreed with a sly grin.

Sonic took Amy in his arms as she kissed him on the cheek. The two sped into Sonic's quarters and locked the door behind them.


	5. The Scientific Genius

**Station Square…**

Dr. Eggman exited a Regime vehicle he stole after Shadow escaped from the surrounding forces earlier. After conducting a few research, he discovered that nearly all of his hidden bases/laboratories didn't exist anymore. The plausible answer is Eggman being teleported to another plane of reality, explaining why the detonator ceased to work. Despite being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Eggman was certain he would find something interesting.

The round scientist observed his surroundings. There was a bar titled "The Colin Cash" where the shadow of a boy with bald hair flexes his muscles. The most interesting part was the egg-shaped smiling face on the window.

"Interesting…" he stated. "I seem to have some form of reputation here…"

Just then, he heard something coming at him from behind. He turned around to see Shadow Homing Attacking from above. However, Eggman anticipated this and kicked Shadow in the chest before he could strike. Shadow fell to the ground in pain as Eggman laughed triumphantly.

"Serves you right for hitting me right in the chest!" Eggman stated proudly. "How about I give you a broken back to go with it?"

With the slight disadvantage Shadow was in, he was slugged by a quick series of Eggman's fists, before a strong punch to the head knocked him unconscious. Eggman laughed, "And now, my formidable adversary's counterpart, let's stick it right through your carcass!" He took out a knife from his pocket and held it to the unconscious Shadow's neck.

Before he could finish the job, Eggman looked up to see two more approaching. As much as he'd like to finish Shadow off, he knew he was no match for two enemies at once, and he had to play it smart. He dropped Shadow and hid behind an alleyway before the two arrived. Upon close inspection, it was Enerjak and Fiona Fox, dressed in different punk clothing colored red and yellow and her normal whip replaced by an energy whip.

"S'up, Shadow?" Enerjak greeted sarcastically, before freezing Shadow's body with a rift of Chaos Energy. "It's been a while. And nice to see your scars healed up."

"You're coming with us now," Fiona stated, grabbing Shadow's frozen body.

"I don't think so, Fiona—" Shadow said, only for Fiona to punch him in the face, making Dr. Eggman chuckle slightly from the sidelines.

"Are you done talking? Good," Fiona smiled sarcastically. "Let's get outta here." They took off, leaving Dr. Eggman alone and unnoticed.

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis  
One-Planet Government Headquarters**

Amy Rose was in eternal bliss. Sonic the Hedgehog almost felt happy again.

The two of them were in bed together, holding each other's arms and their clothing scattered across the floor.

Right now, Amy was in the middle of a dream where she and Sonic were fully clothed, walking the streets of a magnificent shining city. In her dream, all war and conflict both from inside and out had been eliminated, and there was just the two of them. They were both wearing wedding rings, cuddling next to each other.

"Mommy!" the voices of children echoed. Amy turned to see little hedgehogs the color of their fur, either blue or pink, and inheriting traits from their parents. Sonic and Amy held their children together in happiness.

Suddenly, the dream was interrupted by an incoming message from a speaker nearby. Sonic was the first to answer it. "Yeah? What is it?" he asked.

" _Sonic?_ " Tails spoke through the com-link. " _Great news. We've caught Shadow. We're taking him to Prison Island now._ "

Something was definitely wrong. Tomorrow would mark the five-year anniversary of the day New Mobotropolis was lost, and with it, everything he loved. Each following year, Shadow and the Insurgency were harder to catch. It didn't make any sense that, after all these years of eluding capture, would result in Shadow's apprehension on the most important night ever. Sonic decided he had to check it out and make sure.

"I'm on my way," Sonic answered.

" _Roger,_ " Tails replied, before the speaker hung up. Sonic and Amy retrieved themselves from the bed and started putting their costumes back on.

"What's up?" Amy asked.

"I heard they've finally caught Shadow," Sonic replied.

"Really?" Amy exclaimed in amazement. "After all these years?"

"There's only one way to find out," Sonic answered.

* * *

 **Station Square…**

Dr. Eggman looked around, trying to find something else to recognize. As he continued to ponder his next move, he suddenly felt a gun being shoved in his back.

And a very familiar voice.

"Don't. Try. Anything."

Eggman turned around to his amazement. It was his nephew, Snively! But he looked… different. For one thing, Snively's individual hairs on the center of his bald head were now replaced with long red hair dyed with orange. Not to mention, Snively wasn't dressed in his traditional green outfit, but rather a cowboy's outfit with an unbuttoned chest, red vest, long spandex pants, and red leather cowboy boots. On his exposed chest was a red tattoo of the Eggman Empire's symbol. However, what surprised Eggman the most was the fact that his _nephew_ , the sniveling little brat whom he had abused since his rise to power and always feared him was holding a shotgun at his own _uncle._

"Snively?!" Eggman asked surprisingly.

" _Colin_ ," Snively corrected. "The name _Snively_ means nothing to me now. I only answer to my real name." Eggman raised his eyebrow in confusion as he continued, "A little bird told me some creep around here was dressed up like Dr. Eggman, fighting a Shadow the Hedgehog wannabe." He poked Eggman with the shotgun, "You've got the look. And a lot of nerve. What you _don't_ have is the right." He casts an accusing glare, unhappy to see something pretending to be his uncle. He poked Eggman again, this time a multiple.

"Ow!" Eggman exclaimed, unable to bear the pain of the gun's rifle.

"Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was a hero," Snively frowned. "You have no right to tarnish his legacy!"

Eggman tried to reason with Snively, "Snively, it's me! I'm Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik! The greatest scientific genius in this blasted planet, darn it! I mean, I'm your uncle! Your boss! The same uncle you know and love… or hate! Look, it says so right here on my—"

Before Eggman could prove anything, Snively ignored him and let out a warning shot.

"Not funny!" he shouted. "NO ONE pretends to be my uncle!"

 **STAGE 1: DR. EGGMAN VS. SNIVELY (PARALLEL)**

Dr. Eggman instantly took out his laser pistol, shooting his nephew in the chest. However, much to his surprise, the bullet did not kill him, but Snively did show a sign of pain. Snively responded by slide-kicking his uncle, sending him into the air. As he flew up, he unloaded a barrage of laser bullets from his guns, injuring him. As soon as Eggman hits the ground, Snively went over to inspect, only to have Eggman spin kick him to the ground. Before he could get up, Eggman grabbed his leg and twisted it, causing him to cry out in pain. He kicked Snively aside before sliding and kicking him to the ground again. This time, however, he repeatedly punched Snively to the chest. Interestingly, there was still no sign Snively was in serious pain, but Eggman could tell his nephew was weakening.

Snively got back up and delivered a series of quick karate kicks to his uncle. He took out his laser gun again, but before he could shoot Eggman, he jumped off a nearby car, landing on the other side. Snively turned around, not aware of the bomb Eggman placed on the car. The bomb exploded, sending Snively towards him. Eggman simply laughed as he punched his nephew in the face, sending him into the car's flaming remains and back towards him. Eggman prepared for another punch, but Snively countered, pushing the two back.

"You're not my real uncle!" Snively shouted, taking out his pistol.

"You forget your place, nephew," Eggman scoffed, taking out his machine gun.

The two charged at each other, firing both their weapons before impact. Eggman managed to shoot first, sending his nephew back. Eggman then dashed in, giving his nephew a few more punches. Snively got back up, only to fall to the ground in exhaustion.

"Have we calmed down?" Eggman asked.

"It's…" Snively breathed in amazement. "It's… you… The way you move… The way you…"

Dr. Eggman smiled, "Pummel? With the power of science?"

"Well… yes!" Snively nodded.

"It's the bond of family," Eggman added. "You could still feel our bond, right?"

Eggman held out his hand for Snively to grab and get back up. This was all too easy for him to manipulate his nephew as he did so many times before.

"I…" Snively whispered, touching his chest. "I feel… like my old self again… My uncle was dead, but… you're…"

"This isn't my world," Eggman admitted. "But I am Dr. Eggman. Am I not your Eggman… Snively?"

Unable to resist, Snively looked at him with a fully-grown smile and a stream of tears.

"UNCLE!" Snively cried, suddenly hugging Eggman before he pulled away, taking his hand. "Come with me, there's some people who have to meet you!" He led the way, humming and skipping along happily as they moved.

" _This is going to be a lot easier than I thought,_ " Eggman thought to himself, smirking.

* * *

 **Prison Island  
Prison Lane Detention Center**

High Councilor Sonic and Assistant High Councilor Amy walked past a line of multiple soldiers at attention, bowing in respect to their leaders, as they made their way to the prison cell where the most-recent captured prisoner was being held. Inside, a beaten Shadow the Hedgehog from a torture session by Fiona Fox was chained up the wall from his hands and legs.

"Alright, black hog," Fiona jeered. "Ready for visiting hours? Want a cup of coffee?"

The doors opened to reveal Sonic and Amy. Shadow noticed something strange as each of them who stood before him took a different appearance. Sonic was the most unusual as the blue hedgehog looked over.

"Nice work, Fiona," Amy complimented with a smile. "How did you—"

"It's not him," Sonic said bluntly.

"What?" Fiona raised her eyebrow.

Sonic explained, "I can sense his Chaos Energy matches Shadow's, but his vitals are all wrong. And his scent is different." He walked over to Shadow, seeing his ex-rival eye-to-eye. "You're one of the duplicates, aren't you? Let's talk about why you're here."

* * *

 **The Egg Clan's Secret Hideout, Deep Underground of Station Square** ** _…_**

Dr. Ivo Robotnik could be a very hard man to impress. As far as egos for villains went, he definitely had one of the biggest, so there were a few things that impressed him. Ironically, it was this parallel version of his nephew who came off as the biggest surprise. In this world, Dr. Eggman died, leading Snively to gather a force of Mobians and Overlanders not unlike the Dark Egg Legion, to honor his legacy. True, they were nothing like the Dark Egg Legion, and they had to resort to hiding out in the sewers, but Snively managed to move entire parts of dismantled G.U.N. technology and reconfigure them as their base.

Now, Dr. Eggman stood before his followers and nephew of this world as they all cheered for him.

"Fellow members of the Egg Clan," Eggman grinned. "I must admit that I am honored by your efforts to uphold my name in the time I've been gone. You told me the truth about the New Mobotropolis incident, but I tell you this. Sonic killed those people. Then he tried to kill ME."

There was a collection of 'boos' before they quieted down. Eggman continued, "I admire the work you've done in my name… Disturbances, distractions, minor skirmishes, general pains in Sonic's spines…" Some of the members started to laugh about it, before he added, "But let's. Think. Bigger."

He stepped away from the podium and eyed his nephew, "Snively explained to me that Sonic created a pill for his thugs. It enhances the strength and durability of anyone who takes it." Eggman took out a sample Snively gave him earlier, "Shadow's Insurgents got some. Now we have them too. With a few of these at our disposal, we will become UNSTOPPABLE! Invincibility at its finest!"

Everyone cheered as Eggman ingested the pill. He looked down at the crowd as they silenced, before he finished his speech, "From this moment on, the Egg Clan will be more than a nuisance. The barking dog will become the rampaging bulldozer. The whoopee cushion, a land mine! The egg… A KING! Ho-ho-ho-ho! Sonic won't know what hit him!"

The cheers never died. The whole Egg Clan was in a frenzy, just the way Dr. Eggman liked it.

But the celebration was cut short by an explosion from the stage behind the red-coated scientist. The cheers turned into panic as Regime soldiers poured through. The Egg Clan members gathered and quickly grabbed weapons to fend themselves, while Dr. Eggman punched one Regime soldier across the face.

Another Regime soldier came forward and shot Dr. Eggman repeatedly in the chest. However, much to the soldier's surprise, the bullets didn't even faze him.

"I believe the term you should use is 'ouch.'" Eggman grinned, kneeing the soldier in the gut.

Just then, two Regime operatives appeared from the smoke caused by the explosion. Fiona Fox, and much to Eggman's surprise, E-123 Omega. However, Eggman was quick to notice that while Omega still had the same large armored body, the color of his armor seemed darker than usual. The E-Series Robot fired two massive machine guns from his arms, reigning total destruction on the Egg Clan members.

Before Eggman could do anything else, Fiona swung her energy whip and whipped it tightly on Eggman's neck, swinging him around and slamming him to the ground. She lifted the mad scientist up. Snively tried shooting Fiona, but realized he could hit his uncle. Cursing his only option, he took out a small tablet and pressed the center which lit up an image of a Power Ring.

"Back from the grave, Eggman?" Fiona asked Eggman. "Shoulda kept that suit buried."

"It's not my Sunday's best," Eggman laughed. "But it's comfortable. And functional."

Before Fiona could react, Eggman whipped out a crowbar from his right sleeve and smacked Fiona across the face, causing her to release her whip on Eggman's neck. Eggman laughed amusingly at Fiona, who stared angrily.

"I'm gonna enjoy giving you to Sonic," Fiona said.

"Not tonight, my dear," Eggman replied. "Instead of taking me, you'll have a headache."

 **STAGE 2: DR. EGGMAN VS. FIONA FOX (REGIME)**

Fiona threw a punch to Eggman, but he jumped over her. The mad scientist placed a floor mine down before Fiona dashed towards him, not noticing the explosive on the floor. It went off, sending Fiona into the air before hitting the ground. As she got up, Eggman managed to fire a series of rapid laser shots into her chest, causing her to cry out in pain. The egg-shaped doctor laughed as he dashed and delivered a series of quick punches to Fiona's face, forcing her backwards. Eggman jumped onto a nearby steam pipe and broke it open, pouring a burst of steam into Fiona's face. He took a nearby computer and threw it at Fiona as well.

Now, Eggman looked at the female fox with a sinister grin as he took out his crowbar and proceeded to swat away at Fiona's face, before taking out his laser pistol and shooting her in the face. Before Fiona managed to regain her senses, suddenly Eggman takes out a random rocket launcher (from the Regime vehicle he stole) and put it near her body saying "Wakey! Wakey!" and shoot her. This causes Eggman to fly back, dropping down to the ground unharmed and unscratched. Fiona, on the other hand, was knocked out by the blast, unconscious with her body still intact.

"Lovely girl," Eggman grinned. "I wonder how Sonic or Tails would react if I just rearranged your face."

Putting his knife on his hands, Fiona decided to slice her up. Just then, Omega took notice of this after taking down one of the Egg Clan members.

"Eggman detected!" Omega calculated. Before Eggman could deliver the knife to Fiona, he was knocked away by Omega's rocket launchers.

"Omega! It's been a long while, hasn't it, traitor?" Eggman noted. "First, you turned against your creator and sided with Shadow, now you duped him for Sonic… Tell me something: whose boots are easier to dust off?"

Omega denied, "Shadow the Hedgehog is a threat to the One-Planet Government, just like you."

"NOTHING like me," Eggman was appealed.

"Scanners show that you may be a hero from the world you resonate from," Omega calculated suspiciously.

"Oh, no," Eggman shook his head. "It's just that Sonic corrupts young minds with idealistic motions of freedom, which I don't allow, while I squash freedom where it stands! You were my creation, but you betrayed me as you stand here before me! So I'll squash you, turning you into scrap metal!"

"Eggman!" Omega declared. "I will defeat you once and for all!"

"This is what you get for turning against your master!" Eggman retorted.

 **STAGE 3: DR. EGGMAN VS. E-123 OMEGA (REGIME)**

Omega fired his arm machine guns at Eggman, who took the first shots. He lunged at Eggman, only for him to pull back and punched Omega flying to the other side of the room (because he took the pill, he's strong just like Superman, look it up!).

Discovering a giant stone statue Snively transferred to the Egg Clan Base, Eggman tore it off and threw it at him, crashing Omega down. Eggman dashed in, twisted Omega's arm, and tore it off his mechanical body. Before Omega could stand, his body was repeatedly slugged by Eggman's pill-enhanced punches, damaging it further. "Take that, scrap heap!" Eggman laughed, and he tried to punch his former robot one more time, but Omega blocked him and pushed back.

"Who do you think you are?" Eggman asked sarcastically.

"I am the ultimate E-Series Robot!" Omega declared.

The two rushed with Eggman making the first shot, pushing Omega back. Eggman then delivered a 30-hit pill-enhanced combination attack, breaking Omega's body into pieces and causing it to go down, defeated.

"I'd have to tell Shadow that Team Dark has one casualty," Eggman chuckled.

The egg-shaped doctor was about to finish off Omega, but he was interrupted by Insurgency Shadow, Amy, Espio, Knuckles, and Monkey Khan's arrival. Fiona, who happened to wake up during Eggman's battle, was surprised to see the heroes giving the Egg Clan the boost they need to push back the Regime forces. Unable to see victory in this, Fiona ran next to the heavily damaged Omega.

"We're outnumbered!" Fiona cried. "Let's get out of here!" She takes out a laser gun and shoots above, creating a crack on the ceiling, and retreated with a flying jet pack on her back while carrying the unconscious (but heavy) Omega above. Shortly afterwards, the Regime soldiers were beaten and captured, whilst Insurgency Shadow and the prime heroes meet up with Snively.

"You can turn that off now," Shadow said to Snively, who shuts off his beacon.

"Good timing, Shadow," Snively acknowledged. "Thank you for your assistance."

That's when everyone took notice of the round doctor, much to their complete dismay.

"EGGMAN!" the prime heroes exclaimed.

"What's he doing here?!" Amy demanded, grabbing Eggman's arm and shoving it behind his back.

"I should be asking you the same question, Colin," Shadow said to Snively sternly with his arms crossed.

"I know it's not much, but my uncle can be a big help," Snively suggested, Eggman nodding in agreement. "Together, with our scientific expertise combined with your raw talent, we'll defeat the One-Planet Government and save the world!"

"Oh, I see," Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "You came along with us on our little field trip."

"And I'm guessing he didn't come here alone," Espio pointed out.

"You know where Shadow is, then?" Khan asked.

"There's one over there," Eggman sarcastically pointed at Insurgency Shadow. Amy was not amused with his answer and pulled his arm again, paining him.

Insurgency Shadow, on the other hand, looked over the egg-shaped scientist quite seriously, "Your eyes... Pure evil, just like his."

"Who do you mean? You mean this world's Sonic?" Eggman asked. "His forces took Shadow. Our Shadow."

"Quiet or I'll cuff you and leave you for the police," Insurgency Shadow threatened.

"Then why did you save me from them?" Eggman questioned, before his arm was pulled up again by Amy, "OW!"

"If our Shadow's captured, we've gotta bust him out," Knuckles suggested.

Shadow made his own suggestion, "To free your Shadow, we need to complete our mission first. We must retrieve the Chaos Neutralizer from the decommissioned G.U.N. headquarters."

"Chaos Neutralizer?" Espio asked curiously.

"That's the name of the Master Emerald-powered weapon I mentioned," Shadow explained. "The weapon we need to defeat Sonic."

Snively asked with a smile, "Is there any good mission that requires my attention?"

Shadow shook his head, "Negative. You and your Egg Clan need to lay low for now. You've been targeted." He then took Eggman from Amy, "And YOU'RE too dangerous to run around. More of them will be here soon." He turned to Amy and her friends, "You go on ahead to those coordinates. I'll catch up with you later."

"I hate that black hedgehog," Eggman muttered to himself, while being dragged away by Insurgency Shadow.

* * *

 **Mobius Prime…  
Freedom Fighter HQ**

The Freedom Fighters' collective minds of Sally Acorn, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Nicole, Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, and Rotor Walrus sighed with relief. They finally located where the missing Freedom Fighters had gone.

"So there we go," Sonic said. "They're in a parallel dimension. Just like Moebius all over again. Now, how do we get there?"

"We don't," Nicole replied. "As it so happens, I have a contingency plan in case of an emergency such as this. Fortunately for us, we have all the necessary materials needed to bring them here, rather than go there ourselves."

"No risk to an away team…" Sally stroked her chin. "Nice thinking."

"But there's still the same problem, though; how do we do it?" Rotor curiously asked.

"With this!" Tails proposed, with Nicole pulling up a hologram of the Special Zone portal generated by two star-marked lampposts, "We're going to modify our Special Zone portal and use it to pull back our missing friends all at once."

"You're a genius, Tails," Sally remarked. "You always were."

"Not bad, huh?" Tails chuckled.

"Looks like we've got some work to do," Bunnie said, with Sonic and the others nodding in agreement.

* * *

 **Alternate Mobius…  
New Mobotropolis Skyline**

Dr. Finitevus was standing on the rooftop with a glass of wine in hand, looking at the full moon above as he heard footsteps. This was good. He had been expecting this for a while now. Turning around, Finitevus saw Fang approaching. He removed his prisoners' outfit and returned to his original appearance and wearing his Stetson hat, yet his long canine tooth was still gone.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Finitevus admired the sight of the moon, drinking his glass.

"The moon?" Fang questioned. "Or its light shining off your freakish white fur?"

Finitevus chuckled amusingly before turning to face him seriously, "I'm pleased you agreed to meet. You're finally ready to join our little team?"

"Business is bad," Fang admitted. "Being hunted is worse."

"I'm curious, though," Finitevus said intrigued. "After so many refusals, why now?"

Fang the Sniper looked up into the sky, reflecting on the year he spent as a prisoner, and finally answered with four words.

"They made it personal."


	6. The Ninja Master

**De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters**

At the abandoned G.U.N. headquarters, Shadow approached the giant force field with toolkit in hand, working quickly on the fuse box on one of the large poles to disarm it. Amy, Knuckles, Espio, and Monkey Khan were completely amazed at how large the force field was. Regardless, they were ready to undertake this dangerous mission.

"Wow. Must've been some party," Knuckles remarked.

"Sonic actually did all of this?" Espio asked.

Shadow explained, "He exposed my identity as a G.U.N. agent and made me, along with Hope Kintobor, a public menace. After the One-Planet Regime completely disbanded G.U.N., they froze all of its assets and resources."

"I still could not believe he lost it this bad," Espio noted. "Even with what Dr. Eggman did."

"In Sonic's own eyes, he destroyed New Mobotropolis," Shadow told him.

"I don't follow."

"Somehow, Dr. Eggman altered Sonic's mind so he believed he was fighting the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra… But it was actually his wife, Princess Sally Acorn."

"No way…" Knuckles gasped.

"It can't be," Espio shook his head in disbelief.

"Sally is actually…" Khan exclaimed.

"Sonic's WIFE?!" Amy took it the hardest, before she fainted out of stress. It had been Amy's lifelong dream of marrying Sonic one day, but in this world… that dream never came true. But regaining consciousness should take some time.

"Dr. Eggman managed to link the nuke's trigger to Sally's heartbeat," Shadow elaborated, putting his toolkit away and reworking some more wires. "When she and the baby died, New Mobotropolis died with them."

"Sonic was vulnerable, probably for the first time in his life," Espio stated. "His morals completely shattered when his loved ones died before his eyes. It was way too much for him to bear the burden of their deaths… His fear won out," he concluded solemnly.

"My world's Espio and the Secret Freedom Fighters died trying to explain that to him," Shadow concluded his story, putting the fuse box back in place. The force field was instantly disabled, allowing the heroes entrance.

"Why is security tight around a de-commissioned military base?" Espio questioned. "From what I can tell, Sonic had already demolished the base."

Shadow questioned back, "Would you take any chances with me?"

All seemed to agree silently.

"Alright," Shadow instructed. "I need to crank up the base's backup generator." He turned towards Monkey Khan, "Monkey Khan, you're with me." He then turned to the other three, "You three secure the base's secret entrance. It's located on the main hanger bay."

"An excellent plan, Shadow," Espio nodded. "But is making your way through heavily fortified territory your specialty as well?"

Shadow explained, "Splitting up saves time. And you're best suited for camouflage and espionage, which is why I brought you here. This mission can be considered another worthy test for your ninja abilities."

"Roger that," Espio complied. "Commencing operation!"

"Right!" Amy, Knuckles, and Khan nodded with a voice of approval.

 **Later…**

 **A few minutes later, in this area of the G.U.N. base, Espio had already used his ninja arts to destroy the last sentry turret guns.**

"This reminds me of our last assault on New Megalopolis," Amy smiled.

"If I recall correctly, Sally led most of the assault, and not Vector," Espio pointed out with a shrug. "Then again, it's just me."

Upon arrival at the main hangar bay's closed-off entrance, Espio knew instantly something felt off. He, Amy, and Knuckles separately took one side of the door.

"I sense two souls…" Espio noted. "We're approaching danger."

Amy and Knuckles nodded, and slowly went for the door. Unfortunately, once Knuckles tried to open the door, he got knocked out by a furious explosion that suddenly burst the door open and completely flying it backwards.

"GO!" Espio ordered.

Entering the room, Amy and Knuckles charged while Espio shot his shuriken stars at whoever's in the hangar bay, but the stars suddenly were deflected by bombs that hit on impact. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Bean the Dynamite dressed in a green spaceman-like outfit and his hair sporting a Mohawk hairstyle.

"Bean the Dynamite," Espio recognized.

"S'been a long time, hasn't it, dyna-maniac?" Amy quipped.

Bean was not alone as Bark the Polar Bear, dressed in some kind of white prisoners' outfit, was beside him.

"Hey, there, boys and girl!" the crazed explosive expert smiled with a hint of wackiness in his voice. "Welcome to 'Bean & Bark's Boom Boom Fun Time Variety Hour!' Let's give a big hand for your hosts, yours truly, and my main bear, Barky! And you know what time it is, big guy? It's PLAYTIME!" On 'playtime', Bean juggles a couple of lit bombs, preparing for battle.

Bark stood in front of Espio and his comrades, smirking while cracking his knuckles. While Amy and Knuckles handle Bean, Espio goes after the silent polar bear. With his cunning agility, Espio managed to smack him with punch and kick combinations, while simultaneously appearing and disappearing in the area surrounding Bark, dodging the polar bear's attacks in the process. Espio threw a smoke bomb in an attempt to distract Bark, but he accidentally left an opening for Bark to attack.

Espio anticipated this and scooted out of harm's way with three back-flip jumps. He then resorted to throw his explosive kunai. With every kunai thrown, either at Bark's body or the projectiles Bark has thrown, small explosions flew everywhere in the room. Bark tried to run at the chameleon, but Espio, ever the expert target master, pushed him back many times with his explosive kunai, never to miss a shot. The chameleon ninja stood in front of the polar bear, who fell back whilst holding his chest in pain, and his body nearly covered in smoke.

"That was only a fraction of my ninja power," Espio pointed out. "Now I will show you its full potential!"

 **STAGE 1: ESPIO THE CHAMELEON VS. BARK THE POLAR BEAR (REGIME)**

Bark lunged towards Espio, who jumped above him, firing off a series of shuriken stars as he landed on the other side. Bark threw a nearby computer at him, but Espio managed to use his camouflage technique to elude attacks. Every projectile was missed because Bark could not see where Espio had gone. One projectile did hit Espio, and his camouflage was worn off.

Despite getting hit by Bark a couple of times, the injuries weren't as bad as he thought they would be. In fact, because of one sample of the endurance pill he took, his strength and endurance had increased ten-fold.

As Bark rushed to knock him down with his body weight, Espio leaped from wall to wall off the computer behind him and fired an explosive kunai into the screen, causing it to blow up in Bark's face. Furious, Bark went in for a kill, but Espio punched him back with a series of punches and kicks, before taking out another kunai. Throwing it below Bark, the kunai exploded, sending the polar bear into the air. Espio slid down below Bark and threw another kunai, the blade releasing a rope that tied up Bark and pulled him to the ground with much force. Espio then leaped over Bark and threw four explosive kunai at him, knocking him out.

"It appears invisibility does have its benefits after all," Espio remarked, referring to the endurance pill he took a while ago.

Meanwhile, Amy and Knuckles were still at odds with Bean the Dynamite, who threw a series of bombs that nearly devastated the hangar bay. Espio was about to give aid when Bark quickly got up on his feet and pounced at the chameleon. But Knuckles was quick to notice it.

"Espio, heads up!" Knuckles shouted. By cue, Knuckles rushed in and threw a powerful spiked fist uppercut, hitting Bark away through the roof. "You care take of Bean! I've got Bark!" he told his friends, before he chased after Bark.

However, while Amy and Bean are at each other's throat, Bean has one trick up his sleeve. He took out a freeze ray from his pocket and froze Amy into a chuck of ice.

"We've got ourselves a Strawberry Hedgehog Supreme on a cone!" Bean cracked.

But Espio shot three shuriken stars on the ice, breaking Amy free. This doesn't please the wacky Dynamite as he kept throwing his bombs at the chameleon. But Espio managed to elude, deflect, and counter back the bombs with his ninja arts once he gets near him.

"You dare hurt my comrades, you answer to me!" Espio warned.

Bean quipped, "Wheeeeee! Purple Pants Shooting with the Stars! Let's dance!"

 **STAGE 2: ESPIO THE CHAMELEON VS. BEAN THE DYNAMITE (REGIME)**

Espio drew the first attack by firing shuriken stars which hit Bean's bombs in his hands. The bombs exploded, sending Bean flying from where he stood to a wall. Bean recovered and threw a series of bombs which Espio managed to avoid with his ninjutsu. Espio performed a slide kick at Bean's knees, knocking him to the ground. As soon as the Dynamite got back up, Espio grabbed Bean's head with both of his legs, getting a tight grip around him, and flipped him over his back.

Bean stood up, only for Espio to slug him with punches and kicks, and throw six shuriken stars into Bean's chest. Espio then slid down towards Bean, kicking him up into the air. Espio then jumped and performed his Leaf Swirl attack, creating a cyclonic vortex of air filled with transparent leaves around him. The vortex twirled Bean all over the air and slammed him face-first into the wall when the tornado vanished. Espio slid in for another attack, only for Bean to block it after recovering from dizziness, forcing the two back away from each other.

"Wasn't very nice, Purple Pants!" Bean shouted, holding two lit bombs in his hands.

"Beware my ninja power!" Espio readied himself.

The two charged and clashed. Unfortunately, Bean managed to hit first in the chest, sending Espio back a few feet. Before Espio could recover, Bean rolled his knuckles and punched the chameleon three times with uppercuts, the last uppercut sending him upward. To finish the combo, Bean threw a rain of bombs on both the air and ground, hoping they explode when Espio comes in contact. But at the last second, Espio quickly recovered in the air and threw his shuriken stars at the bombs, and the multiple explosions set off across the area engulfed Bean instead. When the sea of flames subsided, Bean's body was all wrapped in smoke. Espio then proceeded to perform a dive kick, giving the Dynamite a good boot to the face before flipping off. Bean got back up, only to comically fall to the ground in exhaustion.

"Your training has been a waste of your time," Espio pointed out, and he turned to help Amy up.

Knuckles reappeared after his dispute with Bark, "What did I miss? Everything cool?"

Espio answered, "The situation is under control. What about Bark?"

Knuckles explained, "He's spineless. I handled that polar bear as if I'm handling my own backyard."

Amy smiled, "Nice work."

As Insurgency Shadow arrived with Monkey Khan, he simply took out what appeared to be a remote and pressed a button. In the center of the G.U.N. hangar bay, the G.U.N. logo on the floor opened up, revealing a secret elevator.

"Let's go. It won't be long before reinforcements get here," Shadow instructed, and the group followed him onto the center of the elevator. With another press of a button, they began their descent as the entrance closed above them.

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis  
One-Planet Government Headquarters**

Dr. Finitevus hated this part of the job.

He regretted the day he agreed to be the One-Planet Regime's chief scientific advisor in charge of their unlimited supply of arsenals. Admittedly, Finitevus had great aspirations all throughout his life as a scientist and considered himself to be an imaginative echidna, but this wasn't imagination. This was practically slavery.

Of course, he couldn't tell this to Sonic. Not yet anyway. He just had to hold out for the Insurgency to get the Chaos Neutralizer. One shot from the weapon is all it takes to free the world from Sonic's rule. So for now, here he was, sitting down and talking to Sonic about things Finitevus already knew about, but he had to act as if he was being told.

"So these duplicates…" Finitevus stroked a chin. "They sound dangerous. I'm surprised you didn't call for Lord Naugus."

"I actually before you got here," Sonic answered. "At first, I thought it was nothing, but these duplicates look pretty tough. Not to mention, a small disturbance from the old G.U.N. base. I sent Naugus and Julie-Su just in case."

"But that's not why you called me," Finitevus pointed out.

Sonic agreed, "Of course not. I need some way to track these duplicates. Tails was working on his own thing, but he said it's going to take a bit longer. I even asked Bunnie to help him between his shifts."

"So you need me to make some sort of scanner," Finitevus guessed. "To help identify these duplicates?"

"Yeah," Sonic handed Finitevus a red thumb drive, "This is data from the duplicate Shadow we're holding at Prison Island. Something to help you."

"That is helpful," Finitevus worked his lie. "It's going to take at least a week or more."

"You'll figure it out," Sonic said with an assuring smile. "You always do."

Finitevus faked his smile and shook Sonic's hand, "I am honored to be of service. To you, to the One-Planet Government, and to the perfect world we envisioned." He stopped shaking his hand, "Will you be joining me and my family for dinner tonight at Albion? Amanda is going to make her special recipe of those chili dogs you love so much."

Sonic chuckled. He always looked up to Dr. Finitevus as both an inspiration and a second father figure, next to Jules. Sonic had been good friends with the Echidna Tribe for a long time, and somehow, Finitevus's family and Sonic's (at least what remained of them) had managed to stay together even after everything that had happened.

"Maybe next time," Sonic smiled.

Sonic began to take his leave, but stopped. There was something bothering him about these alternate universe duplicates. Something he had to know an answer to.

"Finitevus?" Sonic asked with a hint of uncertainty. "There's something I've got to ask you. These duplicates… If they're from an alternate universe, do you think… Do you think there's a Sally where they come from?"

Finitevus was quiet for a second. He could easily lie to Sonic, and send him into that world with no way back, but that would be immoral and would jeopardize the Insurgency's mission. Instead, Finitevus decided to lie again.

"There was only one Sally Acorn, Sonic," Finitevus sighed. "Even if there was another one in that universe, we cannot determine how different she would be from ours."

Sonic sighed. He said, "You're probably right. Thanks for your advice, Finitevus."

With that, he left as Finitevus held the computer chip in his hand.

"Anytime, Sonic," he said. "Anytime." As soon as Sonic left, Finitevus's thoughts were his own. He was relieved that the prime heroes' dimension was spared from the One-Planet Regime's wrath.

He just hoped that the mission already underway had not gone off the wrong way.

* * *

 **De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters  
Underground Cave Laboratory**

The elevator stopped, and the group found themselves inside an underground cave laboratory surrounded by multiple computers.

"How did you manage to hide anything from Sonic and the One-Planet Regime?" Monkey Khan asked. "It looks like he was thorough with his workings."

Shadow explained as he turned on the main computer, "The cave walls are injected with lead polymer. Plus, they have a special substance that shifts the surroundings of the contents inside it. There's no way Sonic could find what we're here for."

Amy pointed out, "You sure went through a lot of trouble to hide this. After all, you're Shadow."

Shadow elaborated, "Neutralizing the Chaos Emeralds was something G.U.N. could decide to do alone. But when Sonic took the Chaos Emeralds and use their power as his own, the threat proved more dangerous. So, Commander Tower hid the Chaos Neutralizer in a vault that only opens by simultaneously sampling DNA from Sonic's closest allies."

"Our counterparts," Knuckles pointed out.

"With most Freedom Fighters dead, and the others backing Sonic's insanity, I had to look for other options. That's when I came across your universe," Shadow explained, elaborating on the reason why he brought the prime heroes to this world. "I needed a small handful of Freedom Fighters to access the vault, including their matching DNA."

Shadow moved to an area and motioned everyone to stand back. They did so, and Shadow pressed a button on his key gadget, that caused a red energy substance to start bubbling in front of them. Suddenly, a metal table rose from within and opened up to reveal an individual hand scanner.

"Anyone a Freedom Fighter, place your hand on a scanner," Shadow instructed. Amy, who has been a longtime member of the Freedom Fighters since she was young, volunteered and pressed her hand onto the scanner. "Begin recognition."

The computer began doing that as it confirmed the Freedom Fighter's DNA. Soon enough, the top of the metal table opened a hatch to reveal a metal briefcase. Shadow opened the case and found to his relief a small weapon inside, the one weapon he's looking for: the Chaos Neutralizer.

"There we go," Shadow confirmed. "Now let's get out of here."

They were about to leave when they heard explosions from above. Shadow quickly slid the case into the shadows, before seeing who it was. Flying in from up above were none other than Regime Julie-Su and Regime Ixis Naugus. The heroes form Mobius Prime noticed that Naugus was much different from his mainstream counterpart. His beard was shaved bald, and his original costume was refurbished with a Doctor Strange-esque look.

"You!" Amy shouted.

"It's Naugus!" Knuckled pointed at Naugus.

"Surrender your guard down at your peril, or you shall face the terrible wrath of the great Ixis Naugus!" Naugus declared. "Tremble before my powerful Ixis Magicks… and DESPAIR!" He concluded his speech with maniacal laughter as he and Julie-Su throw themselves into battle with Shadow and his allies. Naugus tackled Amy aside with his magical staff, while Shadow, Knuckles, and Monkey Khan help her, leaving only Julie-Su to deal with Espio. Espio threw a kunai at Regime Julie-Su, which detonated a small explosion as it got close to her.

Julie-Su stood up after a few seconds of recovering, "Our Espio was just as arrogant."

"I may be arrogant, but I'm not foolish enough to fall victim to the dark side," Espio pointed out. "Why have you sided with Sonic?"

Julie-Su answered, "Sonic has paid for the use of my power. Working for him is a million times better than piddling around with the Dark Legion with nothing to do. As payment for my service, Sonic taught me REAL power!" To demonstrate her new powers, her hands glowed with red energy.

"Is that Chaos Energy I see?" Espio noticed. "Sonic actually taught you how to use it?"

"That's right," Julie-Su nodded. "Sonic fused my body with Chaos Energy, allowing me to control the Chaos Force at my whim." Her face made an insane expression, "Don't you see? Chaos is power, and power is everything! That is what makes the One-Planet Regime, and I fit those qualities."

Espio glared, "You allowed yourself to be corrupted with power to get what you want? Your dark heart betrays your loyalties to your Echidna Tribe, Julie-Su. Your heart is with Knuckles, not with Sonic's."

"I serve both," Julie-Su corrected. "The One-Planet Government promised to hasten the Echidnas' return to power and glory. And all shall bow before us!"

Espio prepared himself for battle, "If words won't dissuade you from the path you chose, then perhaps you shall listen to force!"

Julie-Su prepared herself as well, "Then I won't be so simplistic on your demise!"

 **STAGE 3: ESPIO THE CHAMELEON VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)**

Julie-Su fired dozens of energy blasts at Espio, who avoided them with his agility. He counterattacked by firing an electric kunai at Julie-Su, zapping her. Julie-Su punched him, knocking him back a bit. She then grabbed Espio by the neck and took him up into the air, spinning him around before tossing him back into the ground. Espio recovered and rushed back, giving Julie-Su a quick 20-hit combination, the last blow a hard knock in the head. The blow sent her flying back and Espio performed a Leaf Swirl Vortex, spinning her around with great ferocity. With Julie-Su still in the air, Espio delivered a series of swift blows. Finally, Espio lunged off the Regime operative, throwing a zip-line kunai at her, and pulling himself in towards her before kicking her chest. Julie-Su tried to stand, only to fall unconscious.

"And another thing?" Espio pointed out. "Our Julie-Su is much purer than you are."

Meanwhile, Monkey Khan is restraining Naugus from moving with his staff's lightning, but Naugus broke free after bursting with a massive surge of magic, knocking Khan from the impact.

"Ken!" Espio shouted, and he rushed onto the scene. He threw a rope-releasing kunai that gripped one of Naugus's arms, the kunai attached to the floor. Insurgency Shadow does the same to Naugus's other arm using a grappling hook, while Amy and Knuckles jumped and crashed onto the Ixis Wizard's body, restraining it with their arms. Eventually, Naugus lost focus and fell hard to the ground.

"It's over, Naugus," Knuckles declared. "You're done!"

Naugus smirked, "Don't be so presumptuous… I have only begun!"

In response, Naugus fired an electric spell from his staff, shocking Shadow through the grappling hook and causing the entire cave laboratory to overflow with lightning everywhere like a thunderstorm. Shadow was caught by the lightning and knocked out, followed by Amy and Knuckles. Espio was unharmed after the small thunderstorm dispelled when he was taking care of an unconscious Khan.

Espio remarked, "Your power is most impressive, Ixis Wizard."

Naugus noted, "Only one of you remains."

Espio prepared for battle once more, "Let's settle the score, then!"

 **STAGE 4: ESPIO THE CHAMELEON VS. IXIS NAUGUS (REGIME)**

Espio made the first hit by summoning a Leaf Swirl and firing it at Naugus. Naugus effortlessly dissolved it with the wave of his magic. This distracted Naugus long enough for Espio to perform a spike kick directly to the chest, causing him to crash into the nearby wall. Espio zoomed in and slammed Naugus with a 15-hit combination attack.

Swearing revenge, Naugus unleashed dozens of elemental spells, only for Espio to dodge them all. Before Espio can deal the blow, Naugus summoned a crystal wall, knocking Espio upward. The chameleon was about to recover in the air, when Naugus summoned a fireball, a thunderbolt, and a stalagmite which hit Espio on impact and crashed him to the ground. Naugus then slammed Espio to the chest, and summoned a lightning bolt to zap him square and center. Espio screamed before Naugus took his staff and swung it, flying him to the other side of the cave. Naugus went in for the kill, but Espio managed to block and push the evil sorcerer back a few feet.

"You will fall before my power!" Naugus declared, holding his magic staff forward.

"Your ego must've gotten worse than our Naugus's," Espio quipped.

The two rocketed towards each other, both lashing out with their respective weapons. Fortunately, Espio managed to strike first, and Naugus was sent flying back. Naugus recovered, only to see Espio's eyes completely focused. Espio activated his secret ninja art: his body shot at light speed from wall to wall, like a dagger thrown to a target, and the blows hit Naugus while piercing his body at the same time in the air, one by one. At the last blow, Espio dove and slashed Naugus with a swift slash of his kunai, sending him crashing back into the ground. Naugus tried to get up, but Espio unleashed a swift assault of kunai slashes to his body at the speed of light. Finally, with the last slash, Naugus went down.

"And that makes four," Espio grinned in satisfaction with his victory.

Once Knuckles, Amy, and Khan regained consciousness, Shadow went over to check the briefcase containing the Chaos Neutralizer and opened it. He frowned at what he saw; the Neutralizer had been badly damaged.

"Blast it," Shadow growled.

"Can it be fixed?" Espio asked.

Shadow answered, "The Master Emerald's energy was still intact, but the optical resonator is beyond repair." He closed the briefcase, "We'll never be able to finish it before they find us. Even with Dr. Finitevus's help, we don't have the resources to build a new one quickly."

"Looks like we're gonna need some help," Amy suggested. "We need someone on our team who's smart enough to fix or make things, likes Tails or Bunnie. Anyone open to any suggestions?" She turned to her friends, who simply looked in concern.

Shadow said nothing, and simply took the case back to the elevator with Amy and her team following. It didn't take a mind-reader to realize Shadow was making some quick and brash decisions.

And that could possibly lead to the fall of the resistance.


	7. The Cyber Cowgirl

**Mobius Prime…  
Freedom Fighter HQ**

"There, that should do it," Tails finished and wiped sweat from his forehead, having secured the last metal with a torch blower.

Sally and the Freedom Fighters gathered round at their achievement with pride. They've made the final adjustments on the Special Zone Treadmill, a revised version of the Special Zone portal designed to pull Amy, Knuckles, Monkey Khan, and Espio out of the dimension they fell into.

"We're all ready to test it?" Sally asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be, sugar," Bunnie winked. With that, Nicole pulled up a series of holograms for Bunnie to access, "System's online, linked up…" As the soon as the algorithms are processed, the portal at the center of the Special Zone Treadmill opened. Inside, what could only be described as a black hole condensed.

"Aaaaannnndddd this is why I need to stop playing those Fantasy Zone games at the arcade, even though they're so addicting," Sonic cracked. "Then again, these new indie games are like Freedom Planet. You know, the game where it stars a dragon girl in a planet different from ours?" He turned to Sally and spoke seriously, "But seriously, we're doing okay, Sal?"

Sally nodded with a shrug, "Who would ever argue about practical solutions?" Her expression shared Sonic's, "Right now, we can save time in the arcade for later. We've got work to do." She turned to Tails, "Tails, you're up."

"Yes, ma'am," Tails complied by typing on the computer monitor. "Let's crank it up!"

As expected, when the Special Zone Treadmill activated, the energy drawn from Nicole's nanites becomes a bit larger.

Rotor calculated while working on his own monitor, "The Special Zone Treadmill should lock on to Amy, Knuckles, Espio, and Khan's signatures and pull them back."

Tails nodded, still operating his monitor, "Got it! Nicole's nanites are vibrating at the right frequency!"

Suddenly, a crackle of blue energy came from inside the portal. It soon cracked up an energy rift in the containment field.

Sally reacted, "What's going on?"

Tails noted as he checked the panel, "Containment field's up, but the levels are spiking! It's getting unstable!"

The two-tailed fox was right as the containment field was overflowing with energy. Rotor, Tails, and Bunnie went over the control panel together to control the situation.

"Shut it down!" Sally shouted. "Now!"

"It's okay!" Bunnie exclaimed. "We've got this!"

Unfortunately, the blue stream of energy zapped Bunnie as she suddenly disappeared.

* * *

 **Alternate Mobius…  
Insurgency HQ**

As Bunnie caught her breath, she quickly checked her new surroundings. She was no longer inside Freedom Fighter HQ, but instead some kind of underground cavern, meaning she accidently got sucked into that dimension.

"Wonderful," Bunnie said sarcastically. "Don't know whether to pat mahself on the back, or kick mahself in the…"

She stopped when she heard two familiar voices. She followed the tunnel, making sure to keep quiet until she reached the corner where the other voices emulated from around that bend. Bunnie didn't even need to glance over. She knew these voices all too well.

"I've supplied equipment from the One-Planet Regime I've borrowed, but we're short on personnel," the voice of Dr. Finitevus spoke. "We'll need the Egg Clan to carry out our operation."

"The Egg Clan?" the voice of Fang scoffed. "They're a bunch of wimpy Eggman fanboys. They wouldn't last five seconds."

Dr. Finitevus interjected, "But the chaos they create proves useful. They'll need more training if we were to take down Sonic. Now, the last order of business is the final modifications on the Raiden Giants before we begin the coup."

"That's all Ah needed to hear," Bunnie said silently before turning the corner and firing a ray from her arm cannon. Fang pushed Finitevus out the way as the blast nearly missed them. Bunnie tried to shoot Fang, but he dodged again.

"I thought you said this place was secure!" Fang yelled.

"Never mind that!" Finitevus shouted, retreating with his Warp Rings. "Just keep her busy!"

Fang stepped up and grinned, "With pleasure."

 **STAGE 1: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY)**

Fang quickly sped towards Bunnie with his long thick purple tail's Bounce Attack, slamming Bunnie in the chest with a headbutt. Bunnie groaned in pain, but recovered. Turning around, she fired an arm laser blast at Fang which hit him in the face. Fang fired his laser sniper rifle, which Bunnie blocked with a small force field she activated, and Bunnie fired back with three fully charged laser blasts, hitting Fang. Fang tried to get closer to Bunnie, but when he finally got close enough, Bunnie extended her robotic legs, grabbed an overhead monitor, and smashed it right on top of Fang's body.

Fang groaned as he tried to get back up, but Bunnie quickly spun around and performed a series of punches towards Fang. The last blow was a powerful metal fist that sent him crashing into a computer a few inches away, where he bounced off it and into the ground. Before Bunnie could punch him, Fang blocked it and pushed her away from hm.

"Gonna take you down, sugar-weasel!" Bunnie smirked.

"Try me, sweet cheeks!" Fang responded.

With that, the two clashed. Bunnie was able to strike first, and Fang was sent flying backwards to a computer which exploded. Before Fang could recover, Bunnie flew and punched him right in the face. Bunnie then held Fang's shoulder, threw his body up in the air, and activated her machine gun laser arm cannon, causing Fang to yell in pain. And to deal the final blow, Bunnie charged her arm cannon 100% to fire a particle beam which hit Fang and devastated the surrounding area on impact. Surprisingly, Fang was still standing, but his fur was covered in smoke and his hat was burned to ashes. Fang was only able to stand for a few seconds before collapsing.

"Pleasure's all mine, Nack," Bunnie quipped. "Wish Antoine could see me now."

When a burst of powerful energy erupted, Bunnie turned to see Dr. Finitevus approaching.

"I'm afraid I may have outlived your invitation, Miss D'Coolette," Finitevus declared. "I'm going to ask you to hear my proposal."

"And if Ah don't wanna hear it?" Bunnie retorted.

Finitevus deadpanned, "One way or another, you'll listen to reason."

 **STAGE 2: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY)**

Both enemies punched each other in the face, knocking the both of them out. Bunnie got up first and fired her arm cannon, which Finitevus blocked with his Warp Ring Shield. Before Finitevus could counterattack, Bunnie was able to kick him towards a nearby computer, and upon Finitevus's return bounce, Bunnie grabbed Finitevus and threw him to the other side of the room, where a robotic arm and laser was melding some sort of gargantuan robot not unlike Bunnie or any of her Freedom Fighters had seen during the Eggman War. And just like that, Bunnie knew what to do.

Bunnie quickly grabbed the laser nearby and redirected it straight in Finitevus's chest. She sped towards the white Echidna and punched him straight in the face with a metal fist. The punch was so hard; it sent him crashing through a vent that lead to an assembly room mass-producing all of the gargantuan robots. Finitevus tried to get up, only to have a giant metal block slam into his body, crushing him. The conveyer belt Finitevus found himself on sped onward as he was crushed again by another metal block. Finally, the conveyer belt flipped sideways, sending him flying to a robotic arm that swung around and knocked him to the right. He was smashed through several of the still-in-production robots hanging in front of him, and through another vent which led to the Insurgency's vehicle room, where a series of cars were parked on display.

Bunnie arrived, grabbed one of these cars, and threw it towards Finitevus, but he counterattacked with his Chaos Turret, destroying the projectile. Having recovered slightly, Finitevus was more agitated than ever.

"I'm getting too old for this!" Finitevus shouted.

"Care for a trip to a retirement home, old man?" Bunnie smirked.

The two clashed, Bunnie hitting Finitevus in the face first, sending him flying through another vent. However, this one led to a furnace which burned Finitevus's skin, making him scream in pain. Suddenly, the furnace exploded upon sensing Finitevus, flying him through the wall and into the Insurgency's meeting room. Finitevus tried to get up, but fell to the ground in exhaustion.

Bunnie observed the fallen villain with a smirk, "How'd ya like that, Mr. White Dreadlocks?"

"At ease, Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette," a voice called.

Bunnie turned to see the figures of Shadow, Hope Kintobor, and Bunnie's fellow missing Freedom Fighters approaching her. However, Bunnie realized this Shadow was different; he seemed older, and his body was bandaged and battle-worn.

"Shadow? Black sugar-hog?" Bunnie asked.

"Welcome to Evil Mobius, Bunnie," Amy greeted with a cheerful smile, while the others helped Finitevus and Fang up. "Well, sort of…"

"What the heck's goin' on here?" Bunnie questioned.

"It's a long story," Shadow admitted.

* * *

 **De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters**

High Councilor Sonic and Assistant High Councilor Amy approached the ruins of the cave laboratory, which had been decimated near the end of the Insurgency's mission to retrieve the Chaos Neutralizer. Julie-Su called a while ago, saying the Insurgency stole something. Something Sonic and Amy were unsure of, since Julie-Su and Naugus were knocked out before either could know.

"Shadow took a big risk coming back here," Amy told Sonic. "I wonder what he's after."

Sonic was about to give his thoughts when he suddenly felt pain. He groaned and collapsed to the ground.

"Sonic!" Amy cried as she caught him before he fell.

When Sonic recovered, he wiped something off his foot. It was light green powder scattered across the floor. It seemed harmless, but Sonic's senses connected to the Chaos Force were screaming at him. And for good reason. Sonic had seen this only once before during an incident with Dr. Eggman stealing the Master Emerald at Angel Island. Eggman absorbed and channeled the Master Emerald's power into a doomsday weapon, and the moment he fired it, Sonic, in his Super Sonic form, took the blow and ended up losing his Super form in the process. After all, the Master Emerald contains supernatural powers that neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, and anyone connected to the Chaos Force, for that matter.

And despite the Master Emerald still remaining at Angel Island, Sonic finally understood what was going on. He had to act as quickly as possible.

"I need to flush them out," Sonic growled. "Now."

* * *

 **Insurgency** **HQ**

Bunnie took a deep breath as Shadow and Hope Kintobor finished recapping the events of what was going on to her. It was hard enough to realize that the Bunnie of this world had done so much on this world. Heck, in this world, Bunnie shares the same IQ as Tails; she managed to come up with ideas of Space Harrier-styled teleportation! Bunnie had watched several science fiction films and made a list of things she wanted to do based on them: #1 was building a transporter, and #2 taking her husband Antoine on a world-crossing date.

Of course, this wasn't a fantasy Bunnie was living in. Apparently five years before, on this Mobius, Dr. Eggman managed to trick Sonic into killing his wife and unborn children, while simultaneously activating a nuke in New Mobotropolis, destroying the city and killing millions. The Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette of this world had become heartbroken and distraught when this world's Antoine D'Coolette was among the dead. Because of this, Bunnie was compelled to join Sonic's regime, thinking things would get better if they were enforcing the world again.

After Sonic's rise to power, small resistance movements tried to take his life. Bunnie threw herself in the way of a bomb for her, her body destroyed in the process, and only through the painful process of Legionization was she saved from death. This Bunnie is more machine than Mobian, twisted, unstable, and a willing lackey for Sonic's regime.

Remnants of Freedom Fighters and other heroes came together, led by this universe's Shadow to rebel against Sonic's regime, but Sonic and his One-Planet forces slaughtered almost all resistance. The only ones left opposing them were Shadow, Hope Kintobor, and this universe's Dr. Finitevus, who was secretly funding the Insurgency while working as a spy on the One-Planet Government. The Insurgency was responsible for the transport, as Shadow needed a Freedom Fighter's DNA to unlock a hidden final plan by G.U.N.; the Chaos Neutralizer. Unfortunately, the weapon had been damaged and they quickly needed to make repairs.

"So let me get this straight," Bunnie clarified. "I get to help you guys rev-up your transporter, fix the laser in our dimension…"

Amy added, "And come back with reinforcements. Together, we'll teach Evil Sonic and his cronies a thing or two!"

"There's no time," Insurgency Shadow interrupted. He approached the computer table and opened up the screen. Instantly, an image of Sonic the Hedgehog appeared before the press, standing in a podium during a news report televised planet-wide. Behind him was a banner with a pattern of the One-Planet Regime, and on his left and right were Amy and Enerjak, respectively.

This was hurting Bunnie the most. Bunnie always thought of Sonic as the brother she never had. She and Sonic were best friends since their Freedom Fighter years, and Sonic always showed much potential for good. Even when they had their differences, Bunnie couldn't help but respect Sonic's choices the same way she respected Sally's. But seeing Sonic like this, by the look of pure evil in his eyes, seeing what he could become if led down the wrong path… it actually scared Bunnie.

"Five years ago," Regime Sonic announced. "A tragic event cost the lives of millions. Overwhelmed by guilt for the part he played in the destruction, one of our own turned against us. He was driven mad and became an agent of chaos; an enemy of peace and security, striking from the shadows. But no longer. The leader of the Insurgency will pay for his crimes."

"Ah don't like this," Bunnie said worriedly.

"At 6:00 P.M. local time," Sonic continued. "Shadow the Hedgehog will be executed at Prison Island." He paused and looked out into the cameras with a glare in his eyes, "May Chaos have mercy on his soul."

Insurgency Shadow switched the footage off, "Getting help will have to wait. Rescuing your Shadow just became our priority."

"It's a trap, though," Khan pointed out.

"Of course it is," Shadow nodded. "The One-Planet Regime may have orchestrated the execution as a trap to lure us out."

"Then we'll have to sneaky," Bunnie suggested.

"Sneaky how?" Knuckles asked.

"Ya told me this Space Colony ARK uses a transporter than can take us anywhere, anytime, right?" Bunnie asked Finitevus.

"Yes," Finitevus nodded. "The Space Colony ARK was the very first space colony developed by one of the world's greatest scientists, Professor Gerald. Following Sonic's ascension, he found the ARK and transformed it into a military base. It now hosts one-third of the One-Planet Government's massive military power, reinforced with the tightest security since Dr. Eggman's old city of Robotropolis. Infiltrating could be dangerous, and one mistake could be your last."

Bunnie smiled, "Like Ah said, we're gonna have to be sneaky. We'll just get to the transporter room, and we're home free."

"There remains one small problem," Finitevus said, pulling up some schematics on Prison Island. "Prison Island is equipped with teleportation dampeners."

Bunnie looked closely before she pointed out, "But they only cover the buildings. Y'all just have to get Shadow out of the island."

"Straight through a brick wall, is it?" Espio stroke his chin. "This could be interesting."

"You'll need a distraction to keep Sonic occupied," Fang pointed out.

"Leave that to me," Monkey Khan suggested. "Dr. Finitevus told me that these 'Raiden Giants' he created are connected to my mastery of lightning, as well as my counterpart's. He introduced me to a few. The Raiden Giants can be controlled by his and my thunder staff. That way, with them under my control, I can hold the enemy off."

"Ah'll take the teleporter," Bunnie smiled again. "Transportin' folks anywhere's mah thing. And…"

Everyone watched as her image suddenly changed into the armor of her counterpart.

"…Ah can get past their ranks. Ain't no one-third of a big regime's gonna slow this bunny down," She concluded. "That's mah new hologram imagery, by the way. Case any of you were wonderin'."

"I'm going with you," Fang stood next to her.

"You and me? Workin' together?" Bunnie scoffed, before shaking her head. "Ah don't think so."

"The only way to access the Space Colony ARK from Mobius is through the One-Planet Government's headquarters, the Hall of Justice," Finitevus continued. "A frontal attack would be spotted from miles away."

"And if your cover's blown, you'll need someone shadowing you." Insurgency Shadow added.

Bunnie looked at the tabled in silence, trying to think about it.

"I'm not asking for your permission, sweet cheeks," Fang admitted.

"But you will follow mah lead," Bunnie pointed out.

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis  
One-Planet Government Headquarters, the Hall of Justice**

Surprisingly, there was no tight security around the Hall of Justice, the One-Planet Government's main building. Bunnie and Fang accessed the underground sewers which led them into the fortress above. After disabling the security systems through the entrances, the two ascended until they were inside the teleporter's control room.

"You sure you can get us there?" Fang asked.

"Did I mention Ah'm good at computer stuff?" Bunnie answered back as she got to work on the control panel. "You just reroute the power, and Ah'll get the teleporter's access codes. After yer done, y'all make sure that you…"

"This isn't my first rodeo, sweet cheeks," Fang interjected. "I know the plan."

"Then stick to it," Bunnie said sternly as she continued to enter the codes.

Fang replied sternly, "Whatever history we have with our counterparts, you and I have none."

Bunnie responded, "Figures. Mah fellow Freedom Fighters and you were at each other's throats for a long time."

"Yeah. But only a couple of times."

"Then don't expect any warm fuzzies from me."

With that, Bunnie finished the codes. She instructed, "Meet ya by the teleporter in fifteen." Fang gave a mock salute before Bunnie left.

 **Soon…**

Bunnie was in the teleporter's main lounge. The machine was huge, and did resemble the ones you see on a space fiction movie, except this one didn't need to be placed by a wall, and had some kind of spinning propeller on the top. Bunnie began working on the controls, when suddenly, the propellers started humming and the sound of materialization could be heard.

"Not now…" Bunnie muttered. She hoped they would be free long enough for her friends to make their move, but now she'd have to act like nothing was wrong and keep them distracted. Bunnie continued working on the controls, until her attention is caught by a Mobian who teleported in. This person is none other than Rouge the Bat, another Regime operative, in her original appearance.

Rouge walked past Bunnie without a second glance and greeted, "Hey, bunny rabbit."

"Howdy," Bunnie replied.

Before she could take the exit, Rouge stopped mid-track. She felt something was not quite right with Bunnie's answer. She turned back and asked, "You okay? You sick or something?"

"Uh…" Bunnie lied, sweat formulating on her head. "No, Ah'm okay. Ah'm fine. New orders came in from Sonic."

"New orders?" Rouge raised an eyebrow. "Since when has that stopped you?"

Bunnie tried to play along, "Yeah… We've… We've had some wild times, haven't we?"

Rouge smirked, finally understanding what's going on. She answered with three simple words.

"No, we haven't…"

Suddenly, she placed a tiny EMP device onto Bunnie's chest, and Bunnie's holographic outline reverted back to her original appearance. Because she's a spy, no wonder Rouge has a knack for discovering hidden identities!

"You're one of them."

Rouge threw Bunnie over her shoulder and readied herself.

"Let's see if I can find your 'off' button," she grinned.

 **STAGE 3: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. ROUGE THE BAT (REGIME)**

Rouge went up to strike Bunnie, but Bunnie quickly gave her two kicks to her stomach with her robotic feet, sending her into the air. Bunnie moved in for another attack, but Rouge grabbed her chest and shoved two screw kicks, nearly piercing her body. Bunnie screamed in pain as Rouge withdrew her spiked boots and kicked at her face before giving a flip-kick into Bunnie's chin. Bunnie got back up and kneed Rouge to the chin, then gave an elbow blow to her back, sending her down to the ground. Bunnie delivered a series of punches to her before Rouge countered with a block.

"This is better than the whole Sand Blast City fiasco," Bunnie fretted.

"If that's the game we're playing, let me give you more pain!" Rouge smiled.

The two clashed, and Bunnie got the first hit, pushing Rouge back. Bunnie rushed towards her, but this time, Rouge was ready. She took out a smoke bomb and threw in on the ground, temporarily blinding Bunnie. Rouge kicked her up into the air, taking her whip out and cracking it. She then caught Bunnie by the neck with her whip, and slammed her head-first into the floor. Finally, Rouge delivered a series of infinite kicks from her boots, before back-flipping and slamming Bunnie's head to the ground with her legs. Bunnie got back up as Rouge came at her, only this time, Bunnie managed to extend her legs around and trip Rouge, before firing a fully charged laser blast from her arm cannon to Rouge's chest. This was more than enough to knock out Rouge.

Bunnie said admiringly for her victory, "I'm still turned on. Now, to get those codes—"

But Bunnie never started her work as her feet were frozen in place, making her gasp in confusion. This does not look good. Bringing up a status hologram, Bunnie realized her robotic feet and arm were hacked and shut down remotely. This can only be the work of the person she recognized by the voice.

"This is Bunnie to all Regime forces," the voice belonged to Regime Bunnie, who appeared out of nowhere. "I've found a duplicate of me here."

" _Understood,_ " Knuckles's voice called. " _We'll send reinforcements. Knuckles out._ "

 **Meanwhile, at Insurgency HQ…**

"Impressive," Finitevus remarked upon seeing Knuckles removing his headpiece, having diverted Regime Bunnie's signal from reaching the Regime. "What I would expect from your world's Freedom Fighters. The way you came up with your plan to have Knuckles pose as his counterpart…"

"Freedom Fighters are the best!" Amy cheered proudly. "Now if you excuse us, we're heading out for the big plan."

"Go, then," Finitevus replied and watched them leave. It was then that the white Echidna scientist had something else in mind…

 **Back at the Hall of Justice…**

Bunnie brought up some holograms of her duplicate's cybernetics, as her duplicate did the same for her.

"Don't mind me," Regime Bunnie chuckled. "Ah'm just hackin' your robot parts' hardware."

"How 'bout Ah return the favor?" Bunnie replied.

The two cyber cowgirls kept working with their holograms. They were working faster than either had done before: constantly trying to learn and make 'adjustments' to the other's cybernetics while trying to block or undo any attempt. Finally, the two rabbits were hit by a short-circuit surge of energy, setting both free. The two Bunnies backed away before Bunnie faced her alternate counterpart.

"For real," Bunnie suggested. "Like a standoff!"

"Fine by me!" Regime Bunnie nodded. "And Ah'll be the one makin' the first draw!"

 **STAGE 4: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. BUNNIE RABBOT (REGIME)**

Bunnie began with a quick punch to her other self's face, who was sent back, but bounced forward again with her extendable robotic boots. She grabbed a nearby statue, attempting to smash it into Mainstream Bunnie's face, but was stopped when Mainstream Bunnie punched her, causing Regime Bunnie to drop the statue down on her head. Bunnie then kneed her Regime counterpart upwards before she fell and hit the ground. Bunnie went to deliver a series of punches and kicks, but Regime Bunnie caught the last punch and grinned.

"Got you now," she laughed, slamming her energy-charged hand into Bunnie's chest and firing it. Bunnie screamed in pain before her Regime self knocked her back. Regime Bunnie went in for another kill, but Bunnie caught her by the shoulder and used the same technique on her, sending her back as well. Before Bunnie would strike back, Regime Bunnie unleashed a series of swift punches, kicks, and laser blasts before knocking her down.

Bunnie tried to punch and kick at her Regime duplicate, but every time she tried, her duplicate just managed to block over and over again. Finally, Bunnie let out an arm cannon laser beam to her other self's chest, sending her flying backwards. Bunnie went to work on delivering a series of quick blows, wailing away on Regime Bunnie. Eventually, Regime Bunnie was able to regain consciousness before blocking Mainstream Bunnie back and preparing to clash.

"If Ah was wearin' robot all over mah body, Ah'd have nightmares!" Bunnie pointed out.

"Ya wanna run home ta mommy?" Regime Bunnie mocked.

The two clashed with Mainstream Bunnie winning the clash and delivering another series of quick blows to Regime Bunnie, the final blow being a fully-charged particle beam. After a hundred blows, Regime Bunnie finally fell to her knees and collapsed unconscious.

"Pummeled by mahself," Bunnie looked over her defeated counterpart, "Definitely not a good look fer me. Plus, Ah prefer a lil' fashion sense every now and then."

"Whoa," Fang remarked, who just came in looking over Regime Rouge and Regime Bunnie's unconscious bodies. "You beat me to 'em."

"Another bounty lost?" Bunnie asked.

Fang shook his head, "This one was personal."

"Didn't think anything was personal with you," Bunnie crossed her arms.

"She made it personal when she tortured me," Fang explained.

"Let's go," Bunnie said, entering the coordinates into the teleporter. The two stepped in, and within a second, they were turned incorporeal before disappearing in a brilliant flash of light.


	8. The Bounty Hunter

**The Space Colony ARK  
Teleporter Room**

The two were soon transported to a lone room with a series of computers, complete with a door bearing the One-Planet logo. Fang kept his eyes open and sniper armed, while Bunnie worked at the nearby computer.

"Got it!" Bunnie smiled. "Just got control of the ARK's teleporter."

"It can't be that easy…" Fang sighed worriedly.

Bunnie assured, "When your Bunnie tried to hack my robot arm and legs, she exposed her security protocols."

"Meaning, you stole her password," Fang said, surprised, "I'm starting to like you, sweet cheeks."

Bunnie grinned, "So you say?" A few seconds later, she noticed Fang was venturing out. "Hey, where are you goin'? The plan was to—"

"I won't be long," Fang assured with a grin. "Trust me. I'll be back."

Fang's departure from the teleporter room left Bunnie to grumble to herself. She was needed here to keep an eye out and communicate with the Insurgency from a place where they could be ready to leave at any time.

She just hoped Fang wasn't doing anything crazy.

 **Later, at the ARK's Central Hub…**

Fang the Sniper grinned as he stood hidden in the shadows. He was not alone as two Regime operatives, Miles "Tails" Prower and Vector the Crocodile, were busy monitoring the room's screens while talking about the current situation the Regime was in. These two would be easy to take out now that Fang had a few new extra tricks up his sleeve. He began to quietly lay his trap without Tails or Vector noticing.

"I don't know…" Vector admitted. "If he said it was good enough for the world, it was good enough for me."

"I feel that this conversation should be going the other way around." Tails replied with a shrug. "I mean, Sally isn't the only one involved in the accident five years ago, but the Chaotix, too. Almost the whole team died from the explosion, making you the only member left… So I asked myself, what if what happened to the Chaotix, happened to the rest of us?"

"That's what I'm talking about," Vector recalled with a nod. He then sighed, "It made sense at first. Bad people got what they deserved. But now… it's going too far."

"Sonic's not actually gonna kill that other Shadow," Tails assured. "He's just bait, to catch OUR Shadow."

"And then what?" Vector questioned. "Remember what he did to the others? To Espio?"

Tails couldn't answer him, but Vector swore he could've seen a twitch on the right side of his lips. When he finally showed an expression, Tails examined something on the holographic schematics.

"Something's not right," he pointed out. "The teleporter's offline."

"Somewhere you need to be?" Fang emerged out from the shadows.

"How did you…?!" Without thinking too much, Tails decided to catch Fang by spinning his two tails. However, he failed to notice the landmines beneath his feet which exploded, sending Tails into the way of the rest of the mines which sent him down a crater in the floor. Vector dashed towards Fang, only to have another bomb above his head explode and send him crashing to the hangar bay. Fang jumped down with his bouncy tail and looked at Vector, who was beginning to stand, albeit a bit dazed.

"You're gonna lose, 'hero,'" Fang grinned.

 **STAGE 1: FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY) VS. VECTOR THE CROCODILE (REGIME)**

Vector made the first move by hitting Fang with a clothesline, causing him to fall. Fang kicked back with his foot, sending Vector into the air, and unloaded twin laser guns before Vector collapsed. Fang puts her laser guns away as Vector got back up, and Fang took out his handy minigun rifle and repeatedly shot Vector. Vector countered by grabbing Fang and slamming him repeatedly on the floor. In return, Fang slammed Vector in the nose with a headbutt before shooting him in the chest with a shotgun.

Vector got back up, only for Fang to swing his sword, knocking him backwards. He landed near a button which had a bunch of Regime planes behind it. Swinging his sword again, Fang hit Vector so hard in the chest that it sent him smashing through the planes until he fell over the side of a cliff, as the final plane began falling after him. Vector landed on a vent and looked up to see the plane falling at him. There was no time to react as Vector was pounded by the plane, sending him smashing through another floor below and into the ARK's reactor core, the Cannon's Core. This reactor core was operating similar to a beating heart, and though it was virtually indestructible, it was vulnerable to overheating from the inside, just like when the Biolizard attempted to crash the ARK into the planet when all seven Chaos Emeralds are gathered to power the Eclipse Cannon. Vector fell at the center of the Cannon's Core, taking a major pounding from the energy waves. The core's energy pushed Vector out and landed on a catwalk a few feet away, and Fang arrived to finish the job.

The Sniper got into a crouching position and sliced Vector with his sword. He then threw the sword into the air and continually fired at the crocodile with twin handguns. Finally, Fang charged away from Vector, leaped into the air, and kicked his falling sword into Vector before finally finishing with another barrage of twin sub-machine laser guns. Vector got up, only to fall to the ground, defeated.

Vector smirked as he took his sword out, "Still just a stupid crocodile." He overlooked the Cannon's Core and the computer terminal on the catwalk, "It's payback time."

Up above, Tails rubbed his throbbing head. He looked at the destruction caused and suddenly remembered.

"Fang…" Tails muttered. He ran to the nearest elevator. He got off to see Fang fiddling around with the controls to the ARK's reactor core. As soon as Fang finished, Tails stopped him too late.

"Whatever you're doing, stop!" Tails demanded.

Fang smirked at Tails as a red alarm flashed, accompanied by a warning buzz which filled the area. "It's not what I'm doing," he explained, kicking Tails aside. "It's what I've done."

 **STAGE 2: FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY) VS. MILES "TAILS" PROWER (REGIME)**

Fang began first by knocking Tails in the face with his sword, bouncing him off a nearby Artificial Chaos prototype and back towards the Sniper, who kicked him in the chest. Fang managed to block some punches from Tails before grabbing his shoulder with one arm, and punching Tails in the face with the other. Tails screamed in pain as Vector forced his hand behind his back and kicked him from behind, sending him flying forward. Tails got back up by rotating his two tails, only to have Fang repeatedly knock him in the head with the butt of his sword.

Tails got back up and managed to get a few punches before Fang kicked him, sending him into the computer terminal, the impact cracking the screen. Fang then delivered a series of quick blows before head-butting Tails and shooting him in the chest with a laser gun, as he had done with Vector. He performed a flying spin with his sword, which sliced across Tails' chest. Fang prepared to hit him again, but Tails blocked and pushed him back.

"And here, I thought you're a genius," Fang readied his sword.

"I still am!" Tails said.

The two clashed with Fang striking first and sending Tails back. He then delivered a series of blows before finally taking him down. Tails fell to his knees and fell to the ground unconscious.

"The big finale's comin' up," Fang grinned. "And you've got a front row seat."

 **Back at the Teleporter Room…**

As Fang returned, he could see Bunnie wasn't looking so happy right now.

"What did you do, Fang?!" Bunnie demanded. "The reactor's gone haywire!"

Fang explained, "First rule of warfare: take out command and control. This space hotel's one out of a few keys we need to take out Sonic's regime."

Bunnie yelled, "Darn it! You've jeopardized the whole mission!"

Fang interjected, "Sonic's my priority, not your Shadow."

Bunnie quickly opened a communication link, "Black sugar-hog! This is Bunnie! We've got the ARK, but we've got a problem; the reactor's gonna blow, and the whole ARK with it!"

" _Can you stop it?_ " Insurgency Shadow's voice asked over the link.

Bunnie turned to Fang, who shook his head from side to side, before she answered, "It's a runaway. You've got ninety minutes at best. To make it short and sweet, three hours."

" _We're almost in position,_ " Insurgency Shadow assured. " _Shadow out._ " With that, the communication hung up.

"Ah'll have to teleport everyone off…" Bunnie began working on the computer.

Just then, a holographic image of Insurgency Finitevus showed up. He congratulated, "Well done, you two."

"Got mah hands full here, Doc White Knux," Bunnie said, clearly annoyed. "Whadya want?"

"I need to borrow Fang," Finitevus asked.

"For what?" Fang raised an eyebrow.

Finitevus explained, "I've discovered that Sand Blast City has prototype technology that may allow me to re-weaponize the Chaos Neutralizer."

"Does black sugar-hog know about this?" Bunnie asked.

"No," Finitevus shook his head, with regret clear in his voice. "He would have insisted on using the weapon himself. I need to be the one to do it."

Bunnie looked surprised as he continued, "Shadow the Hedgehog is the face of the Insurgency. If he dies, it dies with him. Someone else needs to take the shot against Sonic. I might as well be the one."

Bunnie said, actually impressed, "Doc Finitevus riskin' his life to save black sugar-hog… Now that's something you don't see or believe every day."

"Send over the coordinates. And any information on what you need," Fang agreed.

* * *

 **Station Square Sewers…**

Accompanied by Espio, the Insurgency leader pushed the communications link button in his ear and gave a command, "Hope, Colin, get your people into position. Occupy any law enforcement you can."

" _Yes, sir!_ " Snively's voice responded.

" _We're on it!_ " Hope's voice responded.

 **Meanwhile, at the Insurgency's Secret Base in Central City…  
Prison Cell**

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was in a bit of a pickle. The Snively of this world was nothing as he thought he was. He had assumed his nephew to have fully embraced his destiny as his successor to the Eggman Empire, but it turned out he was just a sniveling little boy taking orders from Shadow the Hedgehog, and his 'followers' went along with it. Even with him being locked up in his cell.

Finally, there was a clicking sound. He noticed Snively had unlocked the door. Eggman stepped out as Snively looked at the floor, not able to look him in the eye.

"He's going to kill me," he whispered.

"I'd worry less about him if I were you," Eggman replied, bringing his nephew's chin up to look at him. "Let's go. We've got a lot to catch up on."

As he left, it seems Snively was not happy with his uncle. He was blissfully unaware of the glare given to him.

* * *

 **Mobius Prime…  
Freedom Fighter HQ**

Sonic, Sally, Nicole, Tails, and Rotor were continuing to try and fix the Special Zone Treadmill, but one thing was clear.

"I don't know if we're gonna fix it, guys," Tails admitted.

Nicole agreed, "I would have to concur. Parts of the control panel constructed by my nanites were designed to function with energy drawn from the Special Zone portal."

Sally shook her head, "We have to keep trying, Nicole. This may be their only way home.

* * *

 **Alternate Mobius…**

 **Sand Blast City**

Regime Julie-Su was called to meet with Regime Bean at Sand Blast City, a former despot of Dr. Eggman's tyranny until the Freedom Fighters facilitated its freedom, now one of many settlements representing the One-Planet Regime.

"Make this quick, Bean," Julie-Su said sternly. "I'm needed at Prison Island. And isn't Bark with you?"

Bean explained, "Bark's getting me some chocolate chip ice cream. He'll be back later. Anywho, back to the Report Swingin' Show!" He motioned to a nearby computer, showing a map of New Mobotropolis covered in some areas with an infra-red color. "The big screen TV's discovered dots. Lots and lots of dots."

"You mean like anomalies, tears in the fabric of space-time," Julie-Su rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get the message. Just get to the point."

Bean pointed to an area on the map, "I think these little dots are places where the bad guys came from. One of them's got to be the source-course."

"The Insurgency?" Julie-Su asked.

"How should I know? It's just a theory, like the laws of physics!" Bean joked.

"The High Councilor doesn't _want_ theories," Julie-Su shot at him. "He wants _facts._ Why'd you have to bring that up?"

Bean was puzzled at first, before Julie-Su sighed in annoyance, "Go send your 'source-course theory' to Tails. He can confirm theories faster than anyone."

Bean did so, unaware of a sudden punching sound behind him, "You got it, boss-lady. Anything else?"

He turned around to see Fang, standing over Julie-Su who was now handcuffed.

"Nice detective work," he remarked sarcastically. "But you're too late."

 **STAGE 3: FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY) VS. BEAN THE DYNAMITE (REGIME)**

Bean threw dozens of lit bombs at Fang, who bounced across the area, dodging each explosion. Fang took out a shotgun, but Bean dodged a few shots. Fang stopped bouncing with his tail and landed as Bean succeeded on hitting him in the face with an unlit bomb. Fortunately, Fang swung his sword around, repeatedly slashing Bean. Fang jumped back and took out a laser minigun, repeatedly shooting Bean's projectile bombs. Before Fang could attempt to shoot again, Bean surprisingly knocked him to the ground with a rolling punch.

Fang managed to get back up and tail-bounced, doing another spin with his sword and slicing Bean again. Fang was then knocked down by an elbow to the face by Bean. In response, Fang swung his leg around, knocking Bean. The two got back up and Fang grabbed Bean by the shoulder, slugging him hard in the chest, and then shooting him point-blank with a shotgun. The blast sent him back, and Fang threw a series of grenades at the Dynamite. Fang fired two shots from his laser machine gun, zapping Bean to the chest. The Sniper went in for another strike, but Bean and sent him back a few inches.

"BOOM, BOOM BABY!" Bean cried cheerfully.

"Bomb-head," Fang cracked, readying his sword.

The two clashed and Fang won, sending Bean back. He delivered a series of quick punches, followed by the shot of his sniper rifle which made Bean fall to his knees, exhausted and defeated.

"Too easy," Fang smirked. "Your tactics are so-so like a wacky cartoon."

"Yes, they are," Julie-Su's voice called from behind him. Fang turned, to his slight surprise, that Julie-Su broken broke free from her restraints.

Fang said, "I knew my cuffs wouldn't hold you for long, toots." In response, he took out a laser handgun and unloaded at her.

"Chaos Field!" Julie-Su chanted, and she blocked all the shots by generating a red force field, the last shot knocking the gun out of Fang's hand.

Julie-Su pointed out, "You were offered amnesty, Fang the Sniper. You should've taken it."

"And miss my chance to battle one out of two of Sonic's lackeys who tortured me a while ago?" Fang asked with a smirk.

"Oh, you want a fight?" Julie-Su scowled. "I'll give you one!"

With that, Julie-Su fired a large Chaos Particle Beam from her hand, but Fang dodged by rolling under and hitting her arm below with his elbow, disabling her attack.

"You Echidnas are so predictable," Fang pointed out, readying his sword. "C'mon, give me a real challenge! Impress me!"

 **STAGE 4: FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY) VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)**

Julie-Su zoomed to punch Fang, but he punched her in the gut, spun around, and kicked her in the same area, sending her back a little bit. He lunged forward, spinning his sword as he sliced Julie-Su across the body. Julie-Su attempted to hit him, but Fang took out his laser minigun, repeatedly shooting her in the chest. Julie-Su recovered, only for Fang to throw a boomerang from his pocket. The boomerang hit her in the head and she stumbled back. Fang took his opportunity of her being dazed to swing away with his sword, which knocked Julie-Su back.

Fang knocked her in the face with the butt of his sniper rifle. Julie-Su punched him, but he responded with another sword lunge which sliced her once more. Julie-Su then grabbed a nearby lone air fighter missile and slammed it into Fang, the explosion sending him flying back a few feet. Fang got up and shot her again, only to have Julie-Su pick him up by the throat and slam him down. Fang pulled back his sword, knocked her back, and delivered a series of kicks and punches before Julie-Su blocked him and pushed him back a bit.

"Ya sure Chaos Energy hasn't dulled your reflexes?" Fang smirked as he readied his weapon.

"I'll rip your head off, scum," Julie-Su shot back, her hands glowing with red energy.

The two charged at each other. Fang got the first hit and sent Julie-Su back a few inches. He delivered another series of blows, punches, kicks, and laser shots. After a hundred blows, Julie-Su finally knelt over in exhaustion.

"Nope, wasn't impressed," Fang shook his head in disappointment.

After his brief dispute with the two Regime operatives, he entered the secret storage room, as instructed by Dr. Finitevus. Stored there was various military equipment, but at the center of the room was the thing Finitevus had requested. It was a small rocket launcher fitted with a substance containing a particular fitting spot.

"This is Fang to Bunnie," Fang spoke through the communications link. "I got the package. You figure out how to use the main teleporter yet?"

" _Yup,_ " Bunnie's voice replied. " _Now Ah can easily teleport ya anywhere without usin' a portal."_

"Alright," Fang nodded. "Send me to Doc Finitevus."

* * *

 **The Space Colony ARK…**

"Hope it's worth it," Bunnie muttered, finishing the transporter. Now that Bunnie has gained access to the Space Colony ARK, she would have to make sure to teleport everyone else off before the colony self-destructed. She opened one more teleportation link to ensure the others were all prepared. "Black sugar-hog, ya ready? We're down to 45 minutes."

 **The sewers beneath Prison Island…**

Meanwhile, Insurgency Shadow and Espio came across a ladder which would lead them directly to Prison Island. He was letting Amy and her friends know that this was the point of no return, and things would indeed get ugly in there. Espio nodded towards Shadow, letting him know that he and his comrades were with him all the way.

With strong resolve, Shadow gave the word to the rest of his team through a shared communications link, "We're in position. Commence assault."


	9. The Rebellion Erupts

**Prison Island**

In the outer perimeter of the reinforced and super-strong military stronghold of Prison Island, millions of One-Planet regiments were stationed, some holding their standard rifles, others operating machines. Various Regime operatives such as Tails and Vector are situated on the ground, while some were hovering above, such as Enerjak and Neo Metal Sonic.

Above the entrance to the island's inner perimeter stood High Councilor Sonic, accompanied by his second-in-command Amy Rose. The self-appointed 'savior' of Mobius stood with his arms crossed. He knew it was only a matter of time before his world's Shadow would show up.

He saw something in the distance. Something flying towards the island. Some soldiers raised their guns, but quickly put them away when the form of Regime operative Julie-Su zoomed towards them. She was panting in front of the images of the High Councilor and his trusted adjutant.

"You're late, Julie-Su!" Amy reprimanded. "What took you so long?"

Julie-Su hastily reported under her breath, "I was attacked… by the Insurgents… at Sand Blast City! One of them… stole a weapon from the vault!"

Sonic guessed, "They're making their move."

All of a sudden, the water surrounding Prison Island rose into a mountain of waves. The soldiers and operatives looked in confusion and suddenly, the waters receded to reveal a gigantic robotic form reminiscent of an ancient Japanese deity. Floating on a nimbus cloud behind the robot's forehead was Monkey Khan with glowing thunder staff in hand. Standing on the robot's shoulders were Mainstream Amy and Mainstream Knuckles respectively. More and more giant identical robots began popping up from the ocean until they formed into a small army. Everyone watched as Khan motioned his thunder staff to give the order to Dr. Finitevus's newly-created battle robots, the Raiden Giants.

"ARISE AND STAND WITH ME!" Khan commanded.

The Raiden Giants floated forward, preparing to attack.

"There they are!" Sonic spotted. With a motion of his arm, he gave the order to all the surrounding soldiers on Prison Island to take them down.

"Attack!" Amy ordered.

The two opposing sides surged forward.

With a motion of Khan's thunder staff, the Raiden Giants obeyed by opening multiple hatches from their large metallic fingers. The fingers fired a barrage of missiles, destroying the areas in front of them and the soldiers caught in their midst. What's more, the Raiden Giants' antennas glowed to produce lightning bolts that electrocute the soldiers and machines, frying them crispy.

The Insurgency has grown stronger than ever, just as the One-Planet Government had feared. Amy was the most frantic of them all.

"STOP THEM! TAKE THEM DOWN!" she demanded the One-Planet soldiers. Thusly, an epic battle of Regime battalions vs. giant robots ensued. Amy and Knuckles followed suit. Explosions and bodies flew everywhere.

Let the ultimate all-out assault on Prison Island commence!

In the meantime, the Regime was unaware of something else going on.

 **Weapons Bed Facility**

On the other side of the island, Insurgency Shadow emerged from the manhole with Espio following suit.

"Let's go!" Shadow motioned.

They began walking, but suddenly stopped when they heard sounds of stepping shoes mixed with metallic clangs approaching behind. Turning around, Shadow and Espio saw Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega attacking them. Omega threw Rouge up into the air, allowing her to perform an aerial Screw Kick Attack and tackle Shadow's chest to the ground.

"Omega!" Espio exclaimed upon recognizing the E-Series Robot's armor. Without a word, the ex-member of Team Dark fired a series of machine guns from his arms which Espio dodged effortlessly, leaving Shadow, recovering from Rouge's Screw Kick Attack, to deal with Rouge alone.

"Hello, Shadow," Rouge responded with a grin. "Still as handsome as ever."

"Save it, Rouge," Shadow rejected.

"I'm sorry, Shadow. I had to join Sonic when he promised me he'd give me all the jewels in the world," Rouge admitted with a sigh. "I'm simply can't resist those wonderful jewels."

Shadow scoffed, "You chose your craving for jewels over your friends? How could you do something like this?"

Rouge explained, "I'm a treasure hunter with an eye on the world's gems, you see. But no one has recognized that fact. Not until now."

"But Sonic recognizes that?" Shadow asked.

"That's right," Rouge nodded. "And now I'm fighting to create an entire world with gems everywhere! This is a very important battle for me, as well as all of us." She continued in a romantic flare, "In good times, the One-Planet Government rules over all. There's plenty of treasure for us to go around!"

Shadow crossed his arms, "You know, the world's treasures were your only comfort apart from those you left to die in my place. I would never forget the day you abandoned us for Sonic. That you joined a meaningless cause. Face it, Rouge… you've gone mad."

Rouge was unfazed by Shadow's insult and smirked, "Ha! You think that was coincidence? No, it was destiny. Destiny when I joined the One-Planet Regime, I was born to be the greatest treasure hunter that ever lived. It's too bad you're not here to witness it. You were given a chance to join us, but you're as stubborn as you look." She slowly took out a grenade from her pocket. "Sorry for putting you down, Shadow. I just want you to know…" Her face turned into a war expression, "…this isn't personal!"

Rouge threw the automatically set grenade, but Shadow deflected it with a swift kick, sending it flying into the air before it exploded.

Shadow took a step forward to confront Rouge, "I have some business to take care of, too."

 **STAGE 1: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ROUGE THE BAT (REGIME)**

Shadow began responded with a head butt, making Rouge take a few steps back. He then threw a Chaos Spear which blasted Rouge. Shadow attempted a flying kick, but Rouge ducked and punched him in the stomach, making him do a flip in the air before falling on his back. Rouge performed a Screw Kick Attack in the air and smacked Shadow in the chest.

The Ultimate Life Form went flying back a bit before he got back up. Rouge attempted to hit him again, but Shadow threw a series of Chaos Spear, blasting Rouge a few times. Shadow then performed a Homing Attack, followed by a series of punches and kicks, and he charged his fists with Chaos Energy, clasped them, and hammered Rouge to the ground. He then used Chaos Control to teleport a few times and knee Rouge in the chin, before Rouge recovered and kicked him many times.

Shadow recovered and gave two more Homing Attacks before Rouge would attack again. He Spin Dashed forward past Rouge, and when he appeared behind her, he thrust kicked her in the head. Rouge punched Shadow back, but Shadow delivered a series of quick blows followed by Homing Attacks.

Rouge tried to attack again, but Shadow was determined to get his counterpart out, so he decided to wrap this up. Pulling his arm back, he slammed a Chaos-charged fist into her. He then held his hands together to summon a giant fully-charged Chaos Rift attack, which devastated Rouge on impact. Rouge got back up, but fell on the ground defeated.

Shadow looked at her sternly, "You chose the wrong side, Rouge."

Meanwhile, Espio was trying to fend off Omega's endless supply of destructive weapons. Omega seemed to not only know Espio's every move, but was more ruthless than he ever was since he rebelled against Dr. Eggman. And even during the hard times, Omega always had some form of humanity underneath his cold robotic exterior.

"What is wrong with you, Omega?" Espio asked, trying to talk Omega out of it. "You joined our side to defeat Dr. Eggman! G.U.N. took you in! Trained you! You became Shadow's friend!" He clashed with Omega's metallic fists with his kunai. "I know Shadow can be stubborn at times, but you abandoned him for Sonic?"

The E-Series Robot punched Espio to the ground, staring at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

"My codename is not E-123 Omega," the robot replied.

He brought a fist down, but Shadow blocked with his own.

"This is E-102 Gamma," he explained.

"Gamma?!" Espio exclaimed.

"I am E-123 Omega's predecessor," Gamma responded as he and Shadow pushed back and the two began circling each other. "The second of Dr. Robotnik's E-Series Robots. Robotnik is my creator, but Sonic is more of a master to me than he ever was. He was generous to rebuild me with this armor, allowing me to reunite with my friend, the one I have let escape from the Egg Carrier, Amy Rose."

Shadow shot back, "And you're just a useless heap of metal to me. You are the one who destroyed E-123 Omega five years ago. He was my friend. You have no right to wear his colors! You will _pay_ for what you did to him!"

 **STAGE 2: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. E-123 OMEGA (REGIME)**

Shadow threw the first punch, knocking Gamma back with a lot of force, before he bounced off some fuel canisters and back. Shadow then tried a Homing Attack, but the new Omega blocked his attacks and shot him in the chest with a rocket launcher. The usurper of the original Omega fired an infinite series of machines guns and missiles to Shadow, blowing Shadow away to the dirt hard.

Swearing revenge, Shadow fired four Chaos Spears and two Homing Attacks, followed by an almighty kick that knocked Gamma back. Shadow delivered a kick that sent Gamma upwards, but on the fall back down, Omega spun around with a metal fist, knocking Shadow to the ground. Shadow gave three Homing Attacks, followed by a fist that sent the Dark Omega into the air, and then delivered three more Homing Attacks which floored Gamma.

Gamma's body was heavily damaged, and no matter how many machines guns or missile he fired, the vengeful Shadow always seemed to dodge or deflect. Gamma even tried to grab Shadow with his metal fist, but Shadow easily parried them. However, Gamma was able to punch Shadow in the face, making him take a few steps back.

Gamma then attempted to grab him, but Shadow pushed him off and pierces through his robotic chest, creating a hole in his armor. Gamma had no time to recover as Shadow delivered a series of swift blows powered by Chaos Energy, damaging Gamma's armor further. Gamma took out his weapons from his arms, but Shadow managed to tear off Gamma's arms with his bare hands.

"Warning… Damage critical… Damage critical… All weapons offline… All shields offline…" Gamma calculated his current status.

"You're dead," Shadow declared, showing no sympathy for the robot responsible for Omega's death. Shadow jumped high in the air and, with a thunderous battle cry, performed a chop, fully-charged with Chaos Energy, and sliced Omega's body in half when his feet hit the ground.

On cue, the former E-Series Robot, Gamma, exploded into a small sea of flames. At last, he had fallen victim to Shadow's anger. Omega's murder had been avenged. What's more, the One-Planet Government suffered the first of many casualties from its ensemble of high-leveled operatives.

"This was for you, Omega," Shadow said, satisfied for his victory dedicated to Omega.

Espio quickly recovered and asked Shadow, "Are you alright?"

Shadow ignored his question, "Let's keep moving."

Espio asked again, "Shadow, if you don't mind me asking… What happened to your Omega?"

Shadow was silent for a minute before he sighed.

"Sonic found the remains of E-102 Gamma and rebuilt him with the same body as Omega's. Five years ago, during the mission to retrieve the C-4-A-08 pill, Gamma destroyed Omega. While the Secret Freedom Fighters and I were trying to take the pill, Omega and the G.U.N. soldiers were distracting Sonic's forces. It turns out, Shard the Metal Sonic was a double-agent and led Omega to be destroyed personally by Gamma. I didn't learn of Omega's death until Hope told me the news after I synthesized the pill's formula."

Espio saw it very clearly that Shadow was in pain. It was the same pain he felt when he lost Maria 50 years ago when the ARK was shut down by the government, and then again after Amy inspired him to fulfill his promise to Maria to save the planet. Not to mention the other time when Rouge and Omega saved his life when he was found in suspended animation after he 'sacrificed' his life to teleport the falling ARK from its collision course, and found friendship.

All those years, Shadow felt he had lost something precious to him, and in this world, that sorrow would be with him for the rest of his life.

 **Outside Prison Island…**

The battle between the Raiden Giants and the Regime Forces raged on. Sonic's senses were blazing so loudly that it was difficult for him to focus on what to do. Right now, he was operating on instinct and anger. Sonic sped towards the Raiden Giants on lightning speed, instantly destroying a few with a single Spin Attack. Sonic was breaking the speed limit due to the tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy fused to his cells. One of the destroyed Raiden Giants led Amy and Knuckles to jump and land safely on the ground. The shattered remains of the Raiden Giants crumbled around the forces already at battle, though they were at a complete disadvantage at the same time.

Sonic smirked, but was suddenly hit by a sparkling swung of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, and knocked into Knuckles, who grabbed Sonic by the arms. Amy twirled her hammer with a face full of bravado.

"Would you mind if I play along too, Sonic?" Amy cracked playfully.

Sonic ignored the comment. In another time, he would've responded with a joke, but this was a world that did not need humor. It needed a protector with responsibility for the entire planet. Sonic threw Knuckles off him and rode him to the ground, slamming his feet into his back. He growled at Amy, who swung up her hammer to fight him.

"C'mon, Bad Sonic!" Amy motioned her hand to Regime Sonic. "Hit me with your best shot! Fire away!"

Sonic retorted cruelly, "You made a foolish choice, imposter. Now you're going to regret it."

With that, Sonic's body glowed with immense yellow energy, the ground cracking beneath him, forcing Amy to drop her bravado. To see her potential love interest glow with incredulous, unbelievable power, threatening to kill her… it actually scared Amy.

"Oops," Amy gulped.

Before Sonic could respond, he was slugged in the face by Knuckles, who quickly made a blistering comeback.

"You've saved us the trouble of tracking our Shadow down," Knuckles glared at Sonic. "Now we'll get you good!" He jumped into the air, "Stand back, Amy. I've got this." He spun around like a drill and dug into the ground, his spinning fists propelling him through the soil. Sonic didn't move, even when the ground rumbled slightly beneath his feet. Then, all of a sudden, Knuckles rocketed upward with a thunderous spiked uppercut to the jaw, throwing the hedgehog's head back.

Knuckles landed on his feet with a triumphant look on his face. That punch would have easily floored Sonic, but to his dismay, he noticed that Sonic's head returned to its usual position, not a scratch visible from the attack, though his bones have cracked a bit.

"Man, he's tough!" Knuckles exclaimed, genuinely taken back. "Doesn't matter, though. I'm just warming up!"

Summoning small balls of energy channeled from his connectivity with the Chaos Force, the energy balls floated up from the ground and circled around Knuckles. A red aura exploded around him, fueled by Knuckles's growing anger. He rushed forward with a fist raised, "Let's see what you got, Sonic!"

Sonic only scoffed. He simply swung his hand, as if he was swatting a fly. The backhand caught Knuckles on the side of the head, knocking him six miles away and sending him hurling through a large slab of nearby metal which exploded on impact. The red echidna came to rest in the dirt, knocked unconscious.

"Knuckles!" Amy cried.

"How pathetic," Sonic sighed, turning his attention to a frightened Amy. "Now for you." His hand glowed with a surge of yellow energy directed towards Amy.

"Uh-oh," Amy said fearfully.

 **Inside Prison Island…**

Insurgency Shadow and Espio approached one of the prison cells, where Shadow was held captive. Insurgency Shadow took out a card key, pressed a few buttons, and the red hologram blocking the cell vanished. Espio sighed with relief to see his world's Shadow save and sound, but for the time being. Mainstream Shadow was beaten and bruised at the hands of One-Planet operatives, but a small smile upon seeing one of his comrades circled his lips. His expression changed when he saw his Insurgency counterpart.

"You…" he groaned as Insurgency Shadow began to free him. "So you're what all the fuss is about…"

His Insurgent counterpart couldn't help but chuckle a little, "I could say the same about you."

Insurgency Shadow managed to release his counterpart, who fell to the ground in exhaustion. He caught Mainstream Shadow in his arms, but stopped when a kunai pierced the wall only a few inches away. Turning back, Insurgency Shadow noticed Espio reloading his kunai from his gloves, pulsed by a dark red aura flowing around his body.

"I can't… struggle…" Espio was conflicted, "The next shot… might not miss…"

"Julie-Su," Shadow recognized the red aura.

"Surrender, Shadow," Julie-Su said through Espio's mouth. Espio threw another kunai, but Insurgency Shadow swatted it away with his hand. Another kunai was thrown, and Insurgency Shadow dodged with his head before it hit the wall harmlessly.

"I have you now," Julie-Su spoke through Espio's mouth again, forcing Espio to throw another kunai. Insurgency Shadow caught the arrow and threw it away. Espio threw more kunai, but Shadow kept knocking a few away, even with the use of Chaos Spear.

"You can't keep this up!" Julie-Su ranted through Espio's mouth. He then decided to throw a multi-kunai attack, but this too fails when Insurgency Shadow unleashed a hundred-punch technique (similar to Chun-Li's lightning kicks), deflecting all of the kunai as a result. Insurgency Shadow finally had enough of Julie-Su antics.

"Julie-Su!" Insurgency Shadow demanded. "That's enough!" With no other choice, he had to try to knock Espio out to break him free from Julie-Su's mind control.

 **STAGE 3: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ESPIO THE CHAMELEON**

Insurgency Shadow swung his leg around, knocking Espio down. He then threw four Chaos-charged punches towards Espio's face, four more to his stomach, and then an uppercut to the jaw. Insurgency Shadow then used Chaos Control to teleport a few times, striking Espio confusedly. Afterwards, the two fired their Chaos Spears and kunai respectively, some hitting and some missing. Finally, Shadow Spin Dashed and kneed Espio to the jaw, knocking him back. The black hedgehog dealt the last blow by charging his fist with Chaos Energy. He hit Espio in the forehead with a chop, crying, "HIYAAAAH!" The chop connected, a pulse emitted by the shockwave of Chaos Energy. With that, Espio fall over in exhaustion.

"I'll apologize later," Insurgency Shadow said. He looked around, "Julie-Su! Show yourself!"

The image of Regime Julie-Su appeared, sending a surge of powerful red Chaos Energy towards Insurgency Shadow in the form of a falcon. But she didn't realize the injured Shadow behind her as she was knocked out cold by his fist, causing the red falcon to dissipate into mist. Espio managed to regain his senses, whilst Insurgency Shadow came to Mainstream Shadow's aid.

Espio sighed to himself, "To think I was brainwashed by one of our enemies… I have been dishonored."

Insurgency Shadow assured, "Don't worry, Espio. Whatever happened to you is safe with me."

The injured Shadow tried to walk, but he nearly fell down. Luckily, Espio and Insurgency Shadow caught them in their arms.

"Easy, easy," Insurgency Shadow fretted. "Can you walk?"

Before the three would walk their way out of the detention center, a loud explosion came form the ceiling. The roof behind them collapsed, revealing the figure of Enerjak who collapsed with a loud thud. BOOM!

"Get him outside," Insurgency Shadow ordered. There was no way out without getting past him.

"We're not leaving you—" Espio began.

"Just go!" Insurgency Shadow shouted back. "I'll catch up!"

The two quickly left, while Insurgency Shadow confronted Enerjak, who recovered and approached the black hedgehog with a grin.

"Well, look what I found!" Enerjak smiled. "Time to end the Insurgency!"

 **STAGE 4: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ENERJAK (REGIME)**

Shadow made a quick Homing Attack to Enerjak, knocking him back. Enerjak attempted to morph his hands to shoot a charged Chaos Beam Attack, but Shadow disrupted his concentration by throwing five Chaos Spears, knocking him back. Enerjak fired a series of beams from his hands, but Shadow managed to dodge them all. Shadow counterattacked with a punch to the face, breaking his nose in the process. Enerjak then summoned a Thunder Arrow from his hands, electrocuting Shadow and stunning him.

Shadow got back up and delivered seven Chaos-charged punches to Enerjak's face, followed by three Chaos Spears. Shadow gave two Homing Attacks, and attempted a Spin Dash, but Enerjak caught him by surprise and fired a powerful blast of Chaos Energy, knocking him to the ground. Shadow responded with a sudden series of Chaos-powered blows Enerjak was unable to dodge, followed by three Chaos Spears, and finally, a Chaos Rift attack to deal the final blow until Enerjak collapsed exhaustively. The leader of the Insurgency looked at him seriously.

"Sonic is the real enemy, Knuckles," he explained. "Not me."

Insurgency Shadow left to rejoin his team, now down to only a few minutes left before the Space Colony ARK would detonate. If they couldn't get off this island before the time stops, they'd be stranded and at the mercy of the One-Planet Regime.

 **Back outside at the battlefield…**

The distraction was not going well as Regime forces were beginning to fight back, despite heavy losses and the destructive power of the Raiden Giants. Fortunately for the One-Planet Forces, most of the Raiden Giants were destroyed, giving them a slight advantage to counterattack. Assistant High Councilor Amy, who was hiding underneath, smiled contently, knowing there's no need for reinforcements.

She smiled to herself, "Strong as they may have become, it seems the Insurgency badly underestimated the true power of the One-Planet Regime!" She began rooting for Sonic, "Go, Sonic! Kick the duplicates' gnarly butts!"

Mainstream Amy was gasping weakly as Sonic strained her by the neck, not showing any emotion. This was DEFINITELY NOT the Sonic she respected as a friend, a fellow Freedom Fighter, and a potential love interest. This was Sonic if he had been as evil as Dr. Eggman or as ruthless as Scourge the Hedgehog. He was completely emotionless, without any remorse whatsoever for taking another life. It was understandable in some ways seeing as how this hedgehog lost his family and anything that was important to him, but that didn't make him any less scary.

This is the road Sonic told his friends and family he would never travel, and yet there seemed to be a universe in which that promise was broken.

From behind, Monkey Khan threw his thunder staff at Sonic, hitting him in the back and forcing him to release his grip on Amy.

"Over here!" Khan taunted as he flew into the air above Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared up with rage burning in his eyes.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic shouted, and he vanished in a flash of light.

"Where did he go?!" Khan exclaimed.

The realization struck Amy like a thunderbolt. Though she didn't realize his cells are overflowing with Chaos, Regime Sonic can use Chaos Control without using a Chaos Emerald!

"He can use Chaos Control?!" Amy cried out. "That's the same power Shadow has!"

Sonic reappeared above Khan, one powerful kick sending the King of the Free People plummeting back to the ground. As Khan tried to gather his senses in the small crater beneath him, Sonic floated in the air above him.

"HE CAN FLY, TOO?!" Amy exclaimed yet again. It's as if in this world, it was full of surprises. And Sonic was the one who surprised her the most.

Bringing his palms together, Sonic created a much larger energy blast, firing vertically at Khan.

"DIE!" he screamed. The energy blast struck the ground and exploded, with rocks and rubble being blown in all directions. The triumphant smirk on Sonic's face disappeared when the smoke cleared, revealing a slightly unconscious Khan resting in the arms of Knuckles the Echidna.

"Sorry it took so long, monkey man," Knuckles apologized.

"You won't get away with this!" Sonic growled. The corrupted hero sped towards Knuckles at lightning speed and punched Knuckles in face, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to drop Khan's body. He then began to repeatedly sock Knuckles until the red echidna pushed him back with a punch to the chest. However, the punch didn't physically hurt Sonic, as he counterattacked with a swift kick, shoving Knuckles away.

Knuckles recovered quickly, and with a fierce cry, he punched Sonic multiple times with his fists, but with every punch thrown, Sonic effortlessly blocked them all with his hands. Sonic then took the next fist and held both behind Knuckles's back.

Knuckles grunted and tried to break free, but Sonic continued to twist his arms backwards. The red echidna slowly began to feel his bones beginning to crack and yelled in pain.

"NO! STOP!" Amy cried, unable to stand her friends in a terrible state.

But Sonic ignored Amy. Rather, he smirked and took great delight in torturing Knuckles. He enjoyed taking pleasure in showing how futile it was to try and resist him. This is how the world should view him, a force unlike any other that should not be messed with, so as to keep the entire world safe from any threat.

His attention was caught by an explosion from one of the upper floors of Prison Island. Sonic looked closely to see three figures emerging from the smoke. He recognized them as both Shadows and the parallel world's version of Espio the Chameleon.

"No…" he growled, completely forgetting about Knuckles. He dropped the red echidna down and zipped over, determined to stop the escapers.

Meanwhile, both Shadows and Espio stood outside the prison walls.

"And only four minutes left," Espio smiled confidently.

Then he realized something. Nothing was happening.

"Why isn't the transporter working?" Espio asked, much to both Shadows' confusion.

 **The Space Colony ARK…**

Back at the ARK, it seems that Bunnie is having trouble teleporting her friends from Prison Island. She could see them on the map, but the screen shows 'Target Lock Failed', still within range of the teleportation dampeners.

"Darn it!" Bunnie cursed, looking at the timer to see four minutes left. She couldn't teleport everyone out unless Shadow was first. If someone else went first, Sonic could notice and immediately recapture Shadow. Or worse.

They had to find a way to get within range. And it had to be now.

 **Back at Prison Island…**

Deciding to try standing somewhere else, the group made a turn away from the ocean below. They got no further than three steps when Regime Sonic floated in front of them, blocking their way. The group backed up, and knew they had to do something fast.

"You thought you could fool me, Shadow?" Sonic glared at the Insurgency leader. "Like he did?"

"This isn't about Dr. Eggman!" Insurgency Shadow argued. "It's about you!"

The group realized they had run out of room to back up from; behind them was a cliff leading to the waters below. Regime Sonic advanced towards Espio and the two Shadows with his teeth almost grinding together, angrily staring at the resistance members. It was clear that he wasn't going to tolerate them any longer.

"I perfected this world!" Sonic shot back. "So many lives lost, because I held back, when I should've used all my powers!"

While Sonic was speaking his monologue, he didn't notice the group shooting a look at each other, formulating their last back-up plan.

"To do what?" Insurgency Shadow questioned. "To control? To corrupt? To oppress?"

"I could've prevented New Mobotropolis! Saved my family!" Sonic yelled, his eyes glowing red with absolute rage. "This war wouldn't have taken their lives."

"War took my family too, Sonic," Insurgency Shadow said, quietly and as comforting as he could be, while still retaining his stern face.

Unfortunately, Regime Sonic wasn't going to buy it.

"But you weren't the gun," Sonic said grimly.

"NOW!"

By cue, the group jumped off. Sonic was about to catch them in a few seconds when Mainstream Shadow, Insurgency Shadow, and Espio turned incorporeal and disappeared in a bright light, much to Sonic's surprise. He suddenly looked around to see, one-by-one, Amy, Knuckles, and Monkey Khan disappearing in a similar flash of light. The last of the Raiden Giants, without Khan to operate them, shut down and fell into the ocean or the ground with a colossal bang. The Regime forces, almost pushed to the point of exhaustion after a devastating battle, tried to figure out what happened.

And then it hit Sonic.

"THE ARK!" Sonic yelled outrageously.

He didn't waste another second.

With a loud scream, Sonic erupted with a giant flash of golden energy and zipped upwards, leaving a large crater behind from where he stood. He flew high into the sky, above the clouds, and into space. In a few seconds, Sonic was already in the ARK's main hangar. When he arrived there using Chaos Control, he realized something strange. It was getting a bit hotter as he approached the ARK's reactor core. His senses were beginning to ring.

Just then, he heard a recorded message echoed from a vocal recorder, which sounded like a much playful and enthusiastic Bunnie.

" _Hey, sugar-hog!_ " the voice called. " _Hasta la vista, quill-head!_ "

It was then that Sonic spotted the ARK's core rapidly overheating. Then it happened!

The entire Space Colony ARK exploded. It didn't explode in flames, but rather that of a pulse, one which was blue and scattering its remains throughout the sea of stars. Sonic was the only one who survived the blast while he's still inside the colony, pushed back by the impact and falling down to Mobius. Like a falling meteor, Sonic's body heated red. Then, he collapsed into a faraway desert with a colossal BANG, creating a giant crater from the impact.

When Sonic slowly regained consciousness, his One-Planet uniform was charred and his cape was torn to shreds due to his cosmic fall. Up in space, should anyone see it, what remained of the ARK floating in space was reduced to tiny rocks falling down like shooting stars in the sky.

But Sonic was now more furious than ever.

" **NOOOOOOOOO!** " he roared in absolute frustration, his rage surging with tremendous Chaos Energy from his body, spreading throughout the desert like wildfire.

Sonic was officially having a bad day. His forces had failed to secure Shadow, Prison Island and the forces defending it have been devastated, Omega was dead, and the Chaos Neutralizer was still out there with Shadow.

But worst of all was the fact that the Space Colony ARK has been wiped out. One third of the One-Planet Government's military might was destroyed, dissolving less than half. Not to mention, hundreds of millions of lives were lost.

" _Sonic…_ " the voice of Miles "Tails" Prower groaned through Sonic's earpiece.

"TAILS!" Sonic screamed in much hatred than he had felt before. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

" _I think we're in some place called New Found Land?_ " Tails' voice grunted. " _I think Fiona might've visited there once…_ "

" **TAILS!** " Sonic interrupted with a loud roar, shutting Tails up. "Tell me what's going on, or I'm going to make your life more of a living nightmare than it already is! Is anybody else with you?!"

" _Oh, yeah,_ " Tails' voice responded, " _I got the guys… the heroes… and every other personnel with me…_ "

There was a crackle in the communications link.

"Tails!" Sonic demanded. "Are you there? TAILS?! **TAILS!** "

There was no response and only static.

Just then, multiple monitors visibly appeared in the air, broadcasting a very special message throughout the whole planet of Mobius. Appearing on the monitor stood a mysterious figure dressed in a caped black-and-red armor exposing his golden ring-outfitted arms and legs, and wearing a black iron mask concealing his face.

The mysterious spoke with a strong voice glinted with passion and ideology. And Sonic knew who it was.

"Citizens of Mobius!" the figure declared. "For too long, the One-Planet Government has enslaved us, leading us like we were their sheep! They brutalized us, oppressed us, dragged us down! The Regime promised us peace, but brought only war! Promised us well-being, but brought only poverty! Promised us protection, but brought only harm to our homes and families! The Regime has lied to us! Deceived us! Betrayed our trust!"

A roaring boo emanated from the citizens of Mobius.

"Before, under the rule of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, we were slaves to the machine. Now, the One-Planet Government hopes to make us slaves to the nuclear bomb! The nuke of war that does not make food or shelter or clothing, but guns and shells and bombs! I say to you, citizens, will you submit to this nuke?"

A resounding "No" throughout the planet erupted.

"Citizens, I say to you all, this age of tyranny and oppression will no longer stand! We must take matters into our own hands! The One-Planet Government is powerful as they believe they were, but we, the people, have the greatest power of all. The greatest power no one will ever take away. Our **freedom!** "

The figure's speech whipped the population into a frenzy.

"We hereby declare war against the High Councilor and his absolute authority! Once we emerge victorious, we will begin the REAL change in Mobius. We will return power to the people and give them to means to rebuild the world into a better place for all. A world where the nations of the world unite not by force, but by peace. A world where cooperation is the essence of society, and all is free and just. A world where the strong shall not reign over the weak! What did the One-Planet Government and its cronies offer? Dictatorship!"

There was another round of applause, cheering, and shouts of approval.

"Dictatorship, with all its vices and imperfections. These frauds do not seek compromise. And so, we will not seek it with them. Tyrants have no place in this world, and they seek only this planet's destruction. But _we_ will destroy them first!"

And there was again the planet-wide cheering. The enigmatic figure moved to his right, giving way for the viewers to see a familiar building.

"The Hall of Justice…" Sonic recognized under his breath.

The mysterious figure introduced, "Behold! This is the Hall of Justice, the central seat of power for the High Councilor, who demanded our families' blood for his regime, and our labor for his dinner table. His followers also feast upon our lives. And what did they do to deserve it? Blood inheritance?!" he scoffed.

The citizens erupted again, this time with booing and hissing.

"This is but a living example of tyranny, one of many examples the High Councilor decided to keep alive! Now we will show him our response, and set an example for tyrants across the world!"

That was the cue. One hand lifted a remote. One finger pressed a button.

And then, a blood red sea of flames erupted from the entire Hall of Justice, destroying it completely.

Upon watching the footage, Sonic's rage had once again reached a maximum point. First, the ARK was destroyed… Now, the Hall of Justice? The main headquarters of his regime… GONE?!

"And as for you, Sonic the Hedgehog," the figure now directed his attention to a glaring Sonic. "Your time is over. Your days of tyranny are numbered. We will submit to you no more!"

The citizens of Mobius once again applauded not just his words, but his actions as well.

"If you wish to prove yourself worthy enough to be listened to, I challenge you to a duel in the Coliseum in New Mobotropolis! You and me, one-on-one!" He concluded his speech with much conviction, "Come forth, and we shall decide the fate of Mobius in one battle! Come, and face the might of… **_The Iron Echidna!_** "


	10. The Iron Echidna

**THREE HOURS EARLIER…**

 **Insurgency HQ**

Dr. Finitevus was ready to take the most incredible risk of all time. He had made such risks in business dealings, and in trusting Sonic to ensure the safety of Mobius. Only this time, he was willing to defeat Sonic once and for all.

As Finitevus checked his newly-created Iron Echidna Armor, laced with the small rocket launcher-sized Chaos Neutralizer underneath a hatch of the armor's left arm, he listened to the news report coming in from Prison Island.

" _As reports continue to flood in from Prison Island, we now go live to the scene with reporter Jennifer Cluck. Jennifer?"_

" _Thanks, Larry. It's absolute pandemonium outside Prison Island, one of the One-Planet Government's fortified military bases. High Councilor Sonic and his One-Planet forces are battling what can only be described as giant robots designed to look like ancient deities from Japanese folklore. The One-Planet forces are holding on their own, but the regular military is in disarray."_

" _But with Shadow the Hedgehog in custody; is there any sign of who's directing the attack?"_

 _"_ _One possibility would be the Insurgency, by far the only resistance opposing the full power of the One-Planet Government._ _"_

With a sigh, Finitevus turned on a nearby video recording device and stared at it sadly.

"Hello, Amanda, Justin, Gale, Claire," he said. "If you receive this video… I'm already gone. I'm sorry. I had to do this. Sonic has gone too far, and he must be stopped. No matter the cost. When you see this, run. Run far away from Albion and never look back. I love you all. So very much." His eyes glistened with tears, "Goodbye."

Wiping his tears off, Finitevus turned off the camera and took his own C-4-A-08 capsule. He swallowed it whole, giving an added boost to the Chaos Energy that mutated his body. Afterwards, Finitevus wore the armored suit.

"Seal appendage armor," Finitevus instructed the suit. "Activate reactor core." Whirring and hissing, the armor sealed up all over Finitevus's body, with the exception of his arms and legs fitted with Warp Rings.

The installed A.I. of the armor confirmed, "Affirmative." It was based off the voice of Finitevus's wife, programmed to give him every bit of advice and advantage he needs to take on Sonic and his forces. "All systems functional. All inputs tethered. Neutral command scheme now online." The suit was now fully sealed, "Thank you for choosing the Iron Echidna Armor. Have a nice day."

 **Soon…**

 **New Mobotropolis  
One-Planet Government Headquarters, the Hall of Justice**

"Attention!" Two lines of Regime soldiers stood still upon seeing Dr. Finitevus making his appearance at the Hall of Justice. Not a moment later, Finitevus, in his new attire, strode forward.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Finitevus," the commanding officer greeted. "We haven't received word you were coming. Oh, and nice new outfit, by the way."

"Why, thank you," Finitevus smiled warmly. "I thought I would need a little change of clothes. And it matches my eyes." He shifted his topic, "Now, then… Do you know where I can find the Hall of Justice's secret vault?"

"W-Why do you ask?" the commanding officer questioned.

"I need to make sure the vault is well-protected," Finitevus explained. "I fear the Insurgents would infiltrate and steal its valuables."

"But…" the commanding officer tried to interject.

"High Councilor's orders," Finitevus added.

The commanding officer complied with a nod, "Oh, right then. It's at the eighth floor."

Finitevus nodded contently, "Thank you…" With a sly smile on his face, he slowly paused and looked at each of the soldiers standing in line.

"Dr. Finitevus?" one of the soldiers asked. "Is there a problem, sir?"

Finitevus corrected with a smirk, "Just a few."

Suddenly, the armored echidna points to the floor, summoning a multitude of Warp Rings that appeared underneath the unsuspecting soldiers. All of the soldiers screamed as they fell into the Warp Rings before they vanished.

Satisfied with his progress, Finitevus pressed a button on his earpiece, transmitting a message to the Insurgency via a shared communications link, "The job is done. All of the soldiers occupying the Hall of Justice have been taken care of, and all security systems have been disabled."

" _Alright,_ " the voice of Hope Kintobor communicated. " _It's time to bring out the fireworks! Can I give the order to set the bombs all over the Hall of Justice?_ "

"It has been given, dearest Hope," Finitevus assured with a smile. "The bombs have already been set. You just focus on the media broadcasts at Station Square. I want the people of Mobius to witness the spectacular entertainment I'm about to prepare this evening."

" _Okay, then. What about you? Will you join us?_ "

"I will be there momentarily. I have some loose ends to tie up."

Finitevus walked down the hallway before he vanished with a Warp Ring summoned from his finger.

 **Hall of Justice  
Sixth Floor**

The armored echidna stood in front of the Hall of Justice's secret vault, which used to be guarded by high-level security, now disabled like the rest of the security systems and guards by Dr. Finitevus's handiwork of Warp Ring teleportation. Finitevus accessed the vault's door via special hacking codes, and it took a few seconds to discover the password. The hatch opened, allowing Finitevus to enter.

Surprisingly, no stash of secret weapons or endless amount of gold filled the vault; in fact, the entire vault was empty, except for a few objects that stood at the center. A few objects that caught Finitevus's interest, he couldn't help but grin.

Standing at the center of the vault were the seven Chaos Emeralds, all deprived of their color, and their energy drained as a result of transferring all of their negative power to feed Perfect Chaos.

"There they are," he said quietly. "With these Emeralds, true victory will be achieved. Sonic's downfall will be assured. But first things first…"

With that, Finitevus vanished with a Warp Ring along with the Emeralds in his hands. What does he intend to do with them? Whatever it is, it might be another plan for the Insurgency, or something else that will change the tide of war indeed.

 **Later, at the streets of New Mobotropolis…**

Finitevus was using his Warp Rings, jumping and teleporting from location to location to join the battle at Prison Island. This was now the point of no return.

But before Finitevus could make the next jump, two rockets were heading right towards him, much to his annoyance. He warped around, trying to divert the rockets. No matter what maneuver he did with the Warp Rings attached to his arms and legs, the rockets would not break off. They weren't just any rockets; there were tracking ones. Jumping upwards with his Warp Rings, Finitevus spun around in an attempt to confuse the rockets, but it was no use. They were almost at his feet.

"Chaos Barrier!" Finitevus chanted, and a barrier of dark Chaos Energy surrounded his body just in time. But he didn't realize until now that the rockets have the ability to cancel out Chaos Energy. When the rockets exploded and collided with his Chaos Barrier, the flames slightly drained Finitevus of his Chaos Energy, dispelling the barrier. Finitevus found himself falling to the ground, but luckily, he summoned a Warp Ring to teleport him into safe ground and land on his feet.

Finitevus dusted himself with his hands, before he turned to the Iron Echidna Armor's A.I., "Iron Echidna Armor, damage assessment."

The A.I. reported, "Chaos Neutralizer reserve energy drained. Engaging recharge."

"The missiles may have drained not just my Chaos Energy, but the Chaos Neutralizer's as well," Finitevus theorized. "How long is the recharge to 100%?"

"Full restoration in fifteen minutes," the A.I. answered.

"Oh, dear," Finitevus sighed, holding his head. "One such victory would take some time."

To make matters worse, a familiar 'Ho-ho-ho' was heard. Pulling up a stolen Regime vehicle was Dr. Eggman and Snively. Finitevus glared at the egg-shaped scientist putting away a rocket launcher. It turns out Eggman was the one who shot him down.

"Well, Dr. Finitevus," Eggman sarcastically remarked Finitevus's new outfit. "It just goes to show that your new suit is but a cheap imitation to my—"

"I like the color, Dr. Finitevus. It matches your eyes," Snively interrupted with a compliment.

"It is quite impressive, I must admit," Eggman rubbed his chin. "Then again, it's just another example of constructive criticism."

"Unless you want Sonic to win, I suggest you both step aside," Finitevus sternly ordered.

"You're going to take on Sonic?" Snively exclaimed. "He's your best friend! He's almost like a son to you!"

"No," Finitevus corrected. "Sonic the Hedgehog is _not_ my son. But I have children. My two sons are Justin and Gale, and my daughter's name is Claire. My allegiance to Sonic was simply a ruse so I could aid the insurgency."

"Well, then," Eggman grinned. "How about we share!" He turned to his nephew, "Be a good boy, will you? Help Dr. Finitevus out of my suit."

"With pleasure, Uncle," Snively acknowledged, stepping up.

"I don't think so," Finitevus shook his head.

 **STAGE 1: DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY) VS. SNIVELY (PARALLEL)**

Acting quickly, Dr. Finitevus fired a Chaos Turret from his palm that hit Snively in the chest. He slammed both his Chaos Fists into his back, sending him crashing. Finitevus then fired four Chaos Beams at Snively, who kept dodging each one until Finitevus tripped him with a Warp Ring grab to the leg. Finitevus summoned two Chaos Orbs before Snively managed to punch him in the arms. Finitevus felt the pressure on his arms thanks to Snively's own durability enhancement, but fortunately, his Chaos Energy combined with his own pill he ingested earlier helped to ease the pain.

Finitevus summoned a Chaos Geyser from the ground, sending Snively flying into the air. He then summoned a multitude of Chaos Orbs surrounding him in a circle, before firing two more Chaos Turrets at Snively. The five Chaos Orbs homed in on an aerial knocked Snively and successfully connected. To deal the final blow, Finitevus charged his Chaos Energy into a giant Chaos Rift which flew towards Snively, devastating and collapsing him to the ground, unconscious.

"Do yourself a favor, Colin," Finitevus suggested, pointing a finger at his uncle. "Stay away from him."

"He can't quit!" Eggman shouted, hopping about of the vehicle in frustration. "He's fired!"

"What?!" Snively exclaimed, utterly shocked.

"Oh, don't worry," his uncle grinned, taking out a knife. "I'll take something from you to remember you by."

"Dr. Eggman!" Finitevus warned.

"No, no, no," Eggman assured sarcastically. "You go ahead with your little rebellion. I've got this."

Dr. Eggman was ready to skin the face of this alternate version of his nephew, when Finitevus saves her by knocking the egg-shaped scientist aside with Chaos electricity, forcing him to drop the knife.

"You'll thank me for this later, Colin," Finitevus assured.

 **STAGE 2: DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY) VS. DR. EGGMAN**

Eggman went for the first punch, but Finitevus acted quicker and tripped him on his feet with a Warp Ring kick, followed by two Chaos Fists, smashing Eggman to the ground. Eggman tried a flying kick, but Finitevus managed to block it. However, his legs were open for Eggman to kick Finitevus in the kneecaps. Finitevus groaned in pain, but recovered and fired two Chaos Beams at Eggman. He punched Eggman with a massive Chaos Punch that sent him flying upward into a nearby building as Finitevus followed him.

Eggman flew upwards, continuing to smash through multiple floors of the building whilst civilians ran everywhere in panic, before he finally smashed through the roof and landed on top of a nearby building. In the distance, the Hall of Justice could be seen.

As Finitevus arrived, he realized he needed to end this fight quickly so he could take down Sonic. Finitevus delivered a series of punches and kicks faster than Eggman could have anticipated, backing him up into a nearby billboard. Finitevus delivered a strong punch that bounced Eggman off the billboard, into a nearby patrol robot, and smashing through the roof, beginning a long journey downwards. Finitevus followed again as Eggman continued to crash through the floors until he reached the bottom. The bottom was a museum erected in memorial for all those who died in New Mobotropolis five years earlier.

Reappearing with his Warp Rings, Finitevus seized and threw a museum display at Eggman, knocking him back to the far wall, and gave him one last strong punch. Eggman went flying through the wall before he crashed through a pipe. Sailing through, he crashed through another pipe, and finally through the wall, leading him back to the street where he collapsed unconscious, with Finitevus standing as the victor.

"Perhaps Sonic had the right idea about you," Finitevus pointed out.

At that moment, Snively had recovered from his fight with Finitevus, and quickly grabbed Eggman's knife on the ground. In a fit of rage, he used another hand to bring the unconscious body of his uncle's alternate version upwards.

"You're trying to kill me?!" he screamed. "I'll slice that stupid moustache off your face!"

Finitevus stopped him in a calm voice, "Colin, no."

"He was going to…" Snively stared at the alternate version of his uncle regrettably, "I… I can't believe it… I can't believe I fell for him again!"

"He knew exactly which weakness to exploit to the upmost," Finitevus assured. "Your uncle is such an arrogant coward who seeks to manipulate anyone for his own ends. He was only using you as a stepping stone." He eyed Snively with a sincere look, "It's not your fault, Colin. It's what he does. It's what he has always done."

Snively was quiet for a moment before he brought the knife up. With a single stroke, he would at last end all the years of abuse and suffering from his deranged uncle. But the sooner he looked at Eggman's face even further, he more he realized he couldn't bring himself to do it. Snively turned away, dropping both Eggman and the knife. He nearly collapsed, but brought his hands out and prevented himself from doing so.

Finitevus walked over and gave a comforting on his shoulder, "You've outgrown him."

Just then, a group of Egg Clan members approached, pointing their guns at Finitevus.

"There they are!" the members identified. "Over there! Back off, Finitevus!"

"At ease, my friends," Snively assured. "He's on our side." He looked down at his unconscious alternate uncle with a disdainful glare, "Turns out he wasn't."

There was a collection of gasps and confused expressions from the members at first, but by the look in Snively's eyes, it took a little while to grasp the situation.

"Take care of him," Finitevus instructed the Egg Clan. "And keep him locked up this time. Afterwards, rally up the rest of the Egg Clan and join with Hope to commence Phase 2."

"That'll be the least of our troubles," Snively smiled at Finitevus. "When Shadow breaks out of Prison Island, we'll give the word. We'll cause a distraction in the meantime." He urged, "Go. Defeat Sonic once and for all. For all of us. For all of Mobius."

"I will," Finitevus nodded determinedly.

 **Sometime later, during the battle of Prison Island…**

Knuckles dodged the countless energy beams shot from his Regime counterpart, Enerjak.

"Here's a present for ya!" Knuckles yelled. Channeling a bit of Chaos Energy, the energy balls emerged from the ground, creating the red aura around him. The energy-powered Knuckles flashed towards Enerjak and slugged him with a series of energy punches, the last punch powerful enough to sending him flying and crashing into the roof of nearby building. Knuckles smirked, "He really is a fallen Chaos demigod."

Upon sensing something, he rolled out of the way to avoid an electric whip crack from Fiona Fox flying in a jetpack, and a crystal blast from Ixis Naugus floating in the air. Before the two could strike again, both were hit by black powerful energy beams. Knuckles turned to see that the beams came from Dr. Finitevus in his Iron Echidna suit, having arrived just in time with his Warp Ring abilities, and fired two Chaos Turrets from his hands.

"Finitevus!" Knuckles cried.

Finitevus ordered, "Knuckles, go help your friends!"

Knuckles wanted to argue, but saw that Amy was getting choked out.

"You sure?" Knuckles asked.

"I'll handle these two!" Finitevus assured. "Go!"

With that, he used his Warp Rings and disappeared in the direction of the two Regime operatives. He zoomed between Fiona and Naugus as the two gave chase. Finitevus led them as far away from Prison Island as he could, while effortlessly dodging Naugus's magic and Fiona's jetpack missiles with continuous Warp Ring teleports. As soon as he was far enough, Finitevus pulled back so that he was now behind Fiona and Naugus.

Finitevus summoned a ring of multiple Chaos Orbs around his body. The two Regime operatives turned around in time to see Finitevus firing all of the Chaos Orbs at them. Fiona and Naugus tried to block them, but eventually, the assault proved too much for them to endure, and they were both hit repeatedly, falling to the ground. Naugus crash-landed into the street below him, while a screaming Fiona crashed into the roof of Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital, her jetpack broken as a result.

As Finitevus reappeared, he demanded Fiona, "Surrender, Fiona Fox." He eyed the energy whip in her pocket. "Your Chaos Whip. It has Chaos Energy powering it. Give it to me. I'll need it to replenish my strength."

Fiona spat at his face, "I'd rather be at Scourge's deathbed before I put the whip down, you filthy traitor."

"I'm giving you a choice," Finitevus offered. "We shall end this without any further bloodshed."

"Too late," Fiona replied, and she lunged at Finitevus, striking him in the chest and sending him back a bit. Fiona took out her Chaos Whip and swung it at the traitorous echidna, but Finitevus managed to block the attack with his Chaos Energy, forcing Fiona to be slight pushed away.

Finitevus pointed out, "You're done, Fiona. Overmatched."

 **STAGE 3: DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY) VS. FIONA FOX (REGIME)**

Fiona swung her whip against Finitevus, who grabbed it, pulled it with Fiona along, and head-butted the fox, pushing her back. Finitevus counterattacked by using his Warp Rings to teleport his Chaos Fists, slugging Fiona continuously. He fired a Chaos Turret at Fiona, who managed to avoid the attack with a flip. However, Finitevus took Fiona by surprise with a sudden Chaos Flame Pillar from the ground, which began to burn Fiona's body. Fiona screamed in pain, but fortunately, due to her enhancement pill, she survived being scared by the flames. But it didn't stop Finitevus from firing two more Chaos Turrets at her. Taking the gloves off, Fiona threw her Chaos Whip continuously at Finitevus, but he managed to dodge all the attacks and fire two more Chaos Turrets at Fiona, sending her back.

Fiona cracked her Chaos Whip at a nearby Regime patrol robot and threw it at Finitevus's head, which exploded upon impact, but Finitevus blocked the attack with his Chaos Barrier. Finitevus counterattacked with a series of Chaos Beam attacks, knocking Fiona to the far side of the rooftop. Pulling his fist back, Finitevus slugged a hard Chaos Punch to the face, knocking Fiona far away from the rooftop and sending her flying into a nearby neon sign, electrocuting her. Fiona fell into the street below, unconscious and her body fried up.

"Like I said," Finitevus repeated. "Overmatched."

Finitevus teleported to where the unconscious Fiona stood. He was about to take her Chaos Whip to absorb its energy for his own, until he heard an angry voice screaming.

" **FIONA!** "

And just like that, Finitevus was interrupted by a punch from behind. It came from Miles "Tails" Prower, berserk with tears streaming his eyes. By the expression in his face, Tails was furious at the way Finitevus attacked Fiona, the fox girl he used to have a crush on during their Freedom Fighter years, despite him younger than her. With a thunderous battle cry, Tails fired multiple blasts from his Buster Arm Cannon.

"Chaos Barrier!" Finitevus chanted, and he deflected all the blasts, a few sending Tails backwards. Finitevus rushed towards Tails, but the two-tailed fox tossed him back a few feet.

Finitevus greeted sarcastically, "Hello, Miles. You were hoping the accommodations are up for my taste."

Tails yelled, "HOW COULD YOU?! How could you attack her like that? She's on our side!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Finitevus joked. "I didn't mean to hurt your lover. Oh, wait! She wasn't. She was the lover of Scourge the Hedgehog!" Finitevus laughed to himself, causing Tails' anger to grow further, before his face turned serious, "And yes. It is true. I've been in the same side as you and Fiona. But it was very clear to me that I've picked the wrong side."

Tails snapped, wiping his tears, "After everything we've been through together, this is how you return the favor?" He used all of his might to scream, "SINCE WHEN ARE YOU WITH THEM?!"

Finitevus replied, "Since the day your 'big brother' decided to herd us like sheep."

"He only wants what's best for us," Tails protested.

"We're not his playthings," Finitevus retorted. "And he's no god!"

 **STAGE 4: DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY) VS. MILES "TAILS" PROWER (REGIME)**

Finitevus tried to attack first, but Tails spun his two tails around, slamming Finitevus to the chest. Finitevus responded with a Chaos Punch to the face, and two Chaos Beams to the chest. Tails fired two charged Buster Arm Cannons at Finitevus and another tail spin attack, knocking him to the ground. Finitevus responded by firing two Chaos Turrets and three Chaos Orbs at Tails, which knocked him back a bit. Finitevus grabbed a nearby trash bin and threw it at Tails, knocking him again. Finitevus then gave two more Chaos Beams followed by five Chaos Orbs, stunning Tails even further.

Finitevus summoned three Chaos Pillars from the ground, but Tails dodged them all by flying with his two tails. As Tails returned to the ground, Finitevus delivered a Chaos Knee to Tails' chin, followed by a Chaos Punch, and a Chaos Turret to the chest. Tails came back for another attack, only to have Finitevus punch and kick the two-tailed fox continuously.

Finitevus fired a few more Chaos Orbs, as Tails fired a few more Buster Arm blasts, the two projectiles colliding and creating explosions in the air. When the smoke cleared, Finitevus was about to punch Tails, but he was pushed back.

"Are you alright, Miles?" Finitevus asked. "You look pale."

"I… I can take you…" Tails wheezed.

The two clashed at each other, and Finitevus struck first, sending Tails flying backwards. Finitevus proceeded to finish off Tails with a few Chaos Punches, Chaos Beams, and Chaos Orbs, and the final blow channeling all of his Chaos Energy into a giant Chaos Rift which he threw at Tails, creating a small explosion, and knocking Tails out.

"No good comes from hero worship," Finitevus pointed out. He turned to the Iron Echidna's A.I., "Status?"

The A.I. calculated, "Chaos Neutralizer recharge completed."

Finitevus sighed with relief, "That's good to hear. I was hoping I didn't miss anything…"

Just then, Finitevus noticed a blue flash from the sky, indicating the Space Colony ARK had blown up. That meant the next phase of his plan was at hand. As he was about to take his leave, Finitevus noticed that Tails was mumbling something into his communicator. No doubt talking to High Councilor Sonic, but it was clear due to the intense battle he had with Finitevus, Tails was heavily dizzy and wasn't focusing.

A beeping sound echoed from Finitevus's earpiece, and he answered by pressing the button, "This is Dr. Finitevus."

" _Howdy, Doc White Knux!_ " Bunnie's voice rang. " _Ah got outta the ARK just like everybody else from Prison Island with that teleporter before it blew up. Oh, and we got ourselves another black sugar-hog!_ "

Finitevus sighed with relief once more. Not only did the prime heroes succeed in rescuing Insurgency Shadow from the One-Planet Regime, but they also escaped unharmed. But the greatest satisfaction of all was the loss of one-third of the Regime's military power.

A glorious hour for the Insurgency was at hand.

Finitevus answered back with a smile, "Excellent. You and your friends deserve a long rest. Leave everything to me. I'll handle Sonic alone."

" _Roger that, partner,_ " Bunnie's voice acknowledged, which soon turned into worry. " _Ah just hope ya know what yer doin'…_ "

"Trust me," Finitevus chuckled. "I always do."

As the communications link with Bunnie switched off, Finitevus pressed his earpiece again to share another link, "Hope, what is your status?"

" _We got hold of the media broadcasts,_ " Hope's voice reported. " _You're good to go, Dr. Finitevus! Knock 'em dead!_ "

"The stage has already been set," Finitevus nodded before cutting his communication. Reaching underneath his black cape, he took out a black iron mask and wore it on top of his head. "Now, then, may the fortune favor the foolish."

Time to take out Sonic the Hedgehog.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Just then, multiple monitors visibly appeared in the air, broadcasting a very special message throughout the whole planet of Mobius. Appearing on the monitor stood a mysterious figure dressed in a caped black-and-red armor exposing his golden ring-outfitted arms and legs, and wearing a black iron mask concealing his face.

The mysterious spoke with a strong voice glinted with passion and ideology. And Sonic knew who it was.

"Citizens of Mobius!" the figure declared. "For too long, the One-Planet Government has enslaved us, leading us like we were their sheep! They brutalized us, oppressed us, dragged us down! The Regime promised us peace, but brought only war! Promised us well-being, but brought only poverty! Promised us protection, but brought only harm to our homes and families! The Regime has lied to us! Deceived us! Betrayed our trust!"

A roaring boo emanated from the citizens of Mobius.

"Before, under the rule of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, we were slaves to the machine. Now, the One-Planet Government hopes to make us slaves to the nuclear bomb! The nuke of war that does not make food or shelter or clothing, but guns and shells and bombs! I say to you, citizens, will you submit to this nuke?"

A resounding "No" throughout the planet erupted.

"Citizens, I say to you all, this age of tyranny and oppression will no longer stand! We must take matters into our own hands! The One-Planet Government is powerful as they believe they were, but we, the people, have the greatest power of all. The greatest power no one will ever take away. Our **freedom!** "

The figure's speech whipped the population into a frenzy.

"We hereby declare war against the High Councilor and his absolute authority! Once we emerge victorious, we will begin the REAL change in Mobius. We will return power to the people and give them to means to rebuild the world into a better place for all. A world where the nations of the world unite not by force, but by peace. A world where cooperation is the essence of society, and all is free and just. A world where the strong shall not reign over the weak! What did the One-Planet Government and its cronies offer? Dictatorship!"

There was another round of applause, cheering, and shouts of approval.

"Dictatorship, with all its vices and imperfections. These frauds do not seek compromise. And so, we will not seek it with them. Tyrants have no place in this world, and they seek only this planet's destruction. But _we_ will destroy them first!"

And there was again the planet-wide cheering. The enigmatic figure moved to his right, giving way for the viewers to see a familiar building.

"The Hall of Justice…" Sonic recognized under his breath.

The mysterious figure introduced, "Behold! This is the Hall of Justice, the central seat of power for the High Councilor, who demanded our families' blood for his regime, and our labor for his dinner table. His followers also feast upon our lives. And what did they do to deserve it? Blood inheritance?!" he scoffed.

The citizens erupted again, this time with booing and hissing.

"This is but a living example of tyranny, one of many examples the High Councilor decided to keep alive! Now we will show him our response, and set an example for tyrants across the world!"

That was the cue. One hand lifted a remote. One finger pressed a button.

And then, a blood red sea of flames erupted from the entire Hall of Justice, destroying it completely.

Upon watching the footage, Sonic's rage had once again reached a maximum point. First, the ARK was destroyed… Now, the Hall of Justice? The main headquarters of his regime… GONE?!

"And as for you, Sonic the Hedgehog," the figure now directed his attention to a glaring Sonic. "Your time is over. Your days of tyranny are numbered. We will submit to you no more!"

The citizens of Mobius once again applauded not just his words, but his actions as well.

"If you wish to prove yourself worthy enough to be listened to, I challenge you to a duel at the Coliseum in New Mobotropolis! You and me, one-on-one!" He concluded his speech with much conviction, "Come forth, and we shall decide the fate of Mobius in one battle! Come, and face the might of… **_The Iron Echidna!_** "

* * *

 **At the Coliseum in New Mobotropolis…**

"ETA, 12 seconds," Finitevus's A.I. calculated.

"I see him," Finitevus nodded, activating the Chaos Neutralizer in his left arm and pointing it at the target through the mask's display. The Iron Echidna had to wait until the right moment when Sonic was in range, and he would activate the weapon to neutralize his connectivity with the Chaos Force and de-power him.

The A.I. analyzed, "Maximum weapons range: 1500 meters. Weapons lock in seven seconds."

The Iron Echidna manages to see Sonic flying from the sky in a yellow wisp of light, directly to the center of the Coliseum.

"Five seconds."

The Chaos Neutralizer was fully charged.

"Three seconds."

One shot is all it takes. One shot, and victory will be theirs.

"One second."

He was about to fire…

…only to be suddenly shot in the back by an electric shock, courtesy of a half-conscious Miles "Tails" Prower. Finitevus screamed in pain and looked up to see a rageful Sonic slam his fist to Finitevus's forehead… with unexpected results.

"Systems failure. Systems failure. Systems fail—"

The collision shook the entire Coliseum, a massive shockwave reducing the structure into a pile of rubble, and a massive crater left underneath Finitevus due to the speed and intensity Sonic had been travelling at.

As the smoke cleared, Tails saw Sonic standing over the fallen body of the Iron Echidna amidst the ruins of the Coliseum. Finitevus's was coughing loudly as Sonic tore off the mask. Finitevus had a bleeding lip and forehead, though Sonic doesn't seem to care about his degrading health.

"You…" Sonic said in disbelief. "I trusted you… You betrayed me!"

Finitevus coughed weakly as he looked at Sonic, "Who… betrayed… whom?"

Sonic tore off the armor and furiously grabbed Finitevus by his fur.

"I GAVE YOU PEACE!" Sonic roared.

"Your peace…" Finitevus was losing consciousness. "Your peace… is a joke…"

Sonic had heard enough. He grabbed Finitevus by the throat with a strangling hold. Instantly, Finitevus began having flashbacks of his life. His astronomical achievements in the Chaos Force, the birth of his children, the rise of his research, his home city of Albion… the last thing Finitevus remembered was the final night he spent with his family.

And then Sonic the Hedgehog, who considered Dr. Finitevus to be a second father figure as his real father Jules was, stabbed his fingers through the neck of the white echidna. The sound was sickening and resembled the sound of bugs being stepped on and squashed. And just like that, all of his Chaos Energy, his strength, and his life force— Sonic drained them all completely into him, until Finitevus was reduced to a body of skeleton. He threw Finitevus's dilapidated body to the ground, huffing at what he had done.

It was then that Sonic realized there was a crowd surrounding the Coliseum ruins. Sonic could hear their comments of fear and distrust, and it was driving him mad as he held his hands to his head.

"Oh, my gosh! Did you see that?"

"Sonic just killed Dr. Finitevus!"

"Murderer."

"Why would he do that?!"

"Somebody do something!"

"Right in front of the Coliseum?!"

With an inhuman roar, Sonic's Chaos Energy erupted throughout New Mobotropolis like a tsunami, and the comments from the crowd gave way to screams. His rage had reached its breaking point and grew like an endless inferno. Sonic turned around, and growled at the crowd with red glowing eyes. The people began to flee.

The golden energy furiously spread. Cars flipped into the air, buildings shattered into rocks, people flew backwards from explosions. Then smoke. Then fire. Then blood. Then ruined structures.

And rage, rage everywhere.

When Sonic vanished, the area was already reduced to ashes and rubble, and all the people living in that area had died; most of them wiped out, others with their bodies on the ground. The only living soul was a now-conscious Tails, who silently watched the sky lit by a small yellow light vanishing into the clouds. And it was with horror in his eyes.

In fact, Tails was the only one who witnessed Sonic massacre the entire city district of New Mobotropolis out of feelings of hatred and betrayal. He was lucky to have been spared from Sonic's wrath, but he couldn't do anything to snap him out of it. His eyes later shifted to Dr. Finitevus's skeletal body, this time of sadness and regret.

This wasn't right. Not at all. He joined Sonic to make the world a better place and prevent any more casualties from happening… Ironically, it was Sonic who caused this casualty, and the blood of Dr. Finitevus was on Sonic's hands. But most of the blame was on Tails.

For once in his life, Tails realized he had made a mistake.

A very big mistake.


	11. The Road to Redemption

**The Dragon Kingdom  
The Royal Castle of the Free People**

The One-Planet Government was in complete disarray. According to news reports all over Mobius, civil disturbances and mass riots dissented, words of anger and protest worming their way towards the authority of the Regime. Normally, the Regime would be meeting on the Hall of Justice or the Space Colony ARK, but seeing as how the Insurgents blew both of them up; they were forced to gather in the Royal Castle of the Free People. Fortunately, Perfect Chaos survived the Hall of Justice's explosion, and they transferred him to a secure location in the Dragon Kingdom for use in case of an emergency.

Sonic was a visible wreck. Sitting at the throne, his shoulders slumped and his eyes never left the floor. The assault against the Insurgency had horribly failed, and the Regime suffered a loss of a few of their own; worse, they returned from the battle to the scorn and anger of millions. Really, everyone had. All of the Regime operatives had left their posts to participate in the slipshod operation, and now all became synonymous with the futility of the accursed battle. But since Sonic's the High Councilor, most of the blame was passed along to him.

Right now, Assistant High Councilor Amy, and Regime operatives Monkey Khan, Enerjak, Ixis Naugus, Neo Metal Sonic, Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette, and Julie-Su were situated at a round table, discussing the next course of action; what to do with the Insurgency, and the anger against them. Amy took it the hardest, as she was in an extremely foul mood and her breaths get heavy.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Amy roared as she slapped Bunnie, Julie-Su, and then Naugus. The Ixis Wizard took the slap patiently, only wiping the temporary wound on his cheek. "You failed! You failed to stop the Insurgents! And you failed so spectacularly, that none of us may taste victory..."

Bunnie interrupted, "Amy, calm down! What's goin' on?"

Julie-Su agreed, "Yes, I have to concur. What is going on?" She turned to Bunnie and corrected her, "And it's _Assistant High Councilor._ You would be wise to show respect."

Bunnie fretted, "C'mon, Julie-Su. Amy's our friend. I'm sure she'll let it slide—"

"What's going on? What's going on?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON!" Amy screamed, and she slammed her hands on the table in frustration. "Those half-witted duplicates… They've incited insurrection throughout Mobius. They're turning the people against us!"

"Well, morale is certainly at an all time low," Enerjak pointed out. "The Insurgents took advantage of this by blowing up the Hall of Justice and the ARK. They're cutting us one by one."

Amy agreed with Enerjak, "This is an outrage! We protected this world, we eradicated all evil, we gave the people safety beyond anything they hoped for!" Her breath came in furious pants, "And this how they repay us?!"

The Regime operatives agreed with Amy in silence.

Amy continued her rant, "What do we have to give to get some respect from those people?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow them to pieces right now! Wipe them off the map with my mighty Rose Fleet! Maybe then, they'll show us a little reverence!"

Neo Metal Sonic joined Amy, "I concur with the Assistant High Councilor. The duplicates have indeed incited rebellion against us. We must suppress this filth."

Naugus added with his arms crossed, "Willfulness leads to anarchy. It cannot be allowed to spread."

Bunnie nodded, "That's right! If we don't teach those people a lesson, they're never gonna learn!"

The others situated around the table chattered with approval. They were abruptly interrupted by a low voice.

"I made them safe."

The voice came from Sonic the Hedgehog, who finally spoke up after taking time to his thoughts. Everyone turned to hear his opinion.

He continued, "I shielded them. Protected them. But are they grateful? Do they appreciate my protection?" His expression turned into a sneer, "No." He banged a fist at the edge of the throne. "They whine. Complain. Side with those criminals."

Every word he spoke seemed to get nastier and nastier. Sonic rose from his chair to face the others as Miles "Tails" Prower, Vector the Crocodile, Fiona Fox, Rouge the Bat, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear were entering.

Amy voiced her curiosity, "Um, High Councilor… Sir…?"

"If they prefer chaos, I'll give it to them," Sonic addressed to his team. "New Mobotropolis and Station Square… I'll flatten 'em. Set an example. Then… we're going into their world these duplicates came from. They'll PAY for interfering."

Amy cheerfully clapped her hands, approving Sonic's decision, "An excellent idea, High Councilor! I'll prepare the Rose Fleet immediately! But just one question…"

Sonic asked, "Yes, Amy?"

Amy answered, "There may be other worlds in other dimensions that look identical to ours. What should we do with them?"

Sonic replied with a chuckle and a smirk, "I thought you'd never ask, Amy. We'll stomp all these worlds into space dust." His voice grew more sinister as he continued, "Smash every planet in the multiverse until only ours is left. Every. Single. One. And then, no one from any world will ever get in our way again."

Laughing with glee, Amy clapped again, "Now THAT is a plan! I like the way you think, High Councilor!"

Sonic chuckled again, this time at Amy's compliment, "Not bad, huh?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Vector interrupted. "Hold on. So we're wiping out whole cities? Invading worlds in other dimensions?"

"You have a problem with that, Vector?" Sonic asked coldly, preferring not to hear another word right now.

"Well, yeah," Vector nodded. "It's crazy! It's going too far!"

Enerjak interjected, "This planet is incapable of self-rule. We will preserve order."

"By destroying everything and everyone?!" Vector demanded angrily. "Is that supposed to make things better?!"

Amy glared at Vector, "You dare question the authority of the High Councilor?"

Before she could advance towards Vector, Sonic motioned his hand, stopping her.

Vector continued his argument, "So what if a few people tried to turn against us? Not everyone can give us the respect we deserve, you know! But making decisions to hurt people just to spite you?! We're supposed to be protectors, not destroyers!"

Sonic replied cruelly, "We ARE protectors. Not just from _others_ , but from _themselves_. They already made their decisions to turn against us, and now they're reaping what they sowed. If they're not happy with what they've got, they'll find no mercy from me."

"But people could die!" Vector protested furiously. "People _will_ die! And what will you get out of it?!"

Sonic suddenly lost his temper, "I'll get what I deserve! You said it yourself! Not everyone can give us respect…" His eyes narrowed with dark intent, "So I'll have them _fear_ us instead."

In a fit of rage, Vector stormed in front of Sonic, "NO! It's all wrong! Attacking places and hurting innocent people is wrong! Everything's wrong! And YOU'RE wrong! Don't you get it?!"

"Enough of this!" Sonic declared. Tails wanted to join, but Fiona held him back.

"There have to be limits!" Vector protested further. "Even on us! Especially on us!"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Sonic's voice rose to a nearly incomprehensible roar.

"We can't do this! Have you gone nuts?!" Vector yelled. "Sally would never want—"

The mere mention of Sally's name caused Sonic to snap as he grabbed Vector by his throat. Vector opened his jaws, attempting to bite Sonic's head…

…and Sonic grabbed one jaw with his other hand. With a single movement of Sonic's arm, Vector's mouth was snapped wide open, his bones cracking like the sound of a twig bent apart. Vector was moving no longer, and Sonic dropped his body to the ground. The blue hedgehog smirked at how foolish Vector had been to try and resist him.

"Anyone else?" Sonic asked.

There was utter silence in the throne room now. No one dared to speak up. Even Tails, who wanted to voice his critique, stayed silent— and that pleased Sonic. He had ruthlessly killed two traitors today, and they knew he would be willing to kill more if needed.

"Good," Sonic nodded. He turned and gave orders to each of his comrades, "Bunnie, Rouge, take control of all media broadcasts. I want everyone to see this. Amy, Enerjak, Monkey Khan, Naugus, you're with me. Neo Metal Sonic, prepare your ground forces. Tails, Fiona, Julie-Su… get Chaos ready."

He took one last look at Vector and left the throne room. Amy and the Regime operatives followed, leaving Tails, Fiona, Bark, Bean, Julie-Su, and the dead body of Vector behind.

Bean sighed looking at Vector's corpse, "So much for Mr. Sherlock Croc… Might as well give him a proper burial. I doubt anyone would miss him…" He turned to Bark, "Take him outside, big guy."

Bark silently nodded and took Vector in his arms. Tails stared at the lifeless body one last time before Bark departed, while Julie-Su and Fiona started working on some machines.

The two-tailed fox, on the other hand, stood remorsefully about Vector's death. Imagine that, the loss of a friend that reminded him of the good old days he spent with the Freedom Fighters. He remembered Sonic, before he was the High Councilor, was a role model, best friend, and big brother to Tails. Then he remembered Sally, who is a natural leader and aunt figure. Then Bunnie. Rotor. Antoine. His father Amadeus. His mother Rosemary. His uncle Merlin. All of his old friends and associates. The ones who stuck with him during the hard times.

Dr. Finitevus was right about everything; Sonic has gone too far. He's not the same best friend and big brother he once knew anymore. There was still a chance for Tails to redeem himself, to set things right. No matter the cost.

"He was right," Tails shook his head. "This isn't what we signed up for."

Julie-Su spoke up, "It doesn't matter anymore, Tails. We did our job. We eliminated all crime."

Tails argued, "No, you're wrong. Vector's not a criminal. He's—"

"A casualty of war," Julie-Su interjected. "Acceptable losses."

"ACCEPTABLE?!" Tails shouted angrily, and his voice was loud and strong. It forced Julie-Su to turn and face him seriously. Fiona was still busy working. "Vector's our friend, and you call killing him acceptable, even if he did nothing wrong?!"

Julie-Su said firmly, "Tails, what's gotten into you?"

" **SHUT UP! YOU LISTEN TO ME!** " Tails screamed at the top of his lungs, much to Julie-Su's surprise. "YOU THINK THAT MAKING WAR AND KILLING PEOPLE IS GOOD! YOU THINK THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DESTROY WHATEVER WE WANT IS GOOD! YOU THINK THAT SACRIFICING OUR FRIENDS FOR WHATEVER THEY DID, RIGHT OR WRONG, IS GOOD!" Tears began streaming down his face, "IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL IT?! FOR US?! FOR EVERYONE?!"

Julie-Su didn't respond. With no strength left to support his voice, Tails took a deep breath and sighed, and dried the tears from his eyes. It's no wonder Tails is so young, he can bawl out tears whenever he gets angry, frustrated, or if he wanted to shout in front of somebody. He returned to his normal voice, albeit a little crack in it.

He continued, "All this time, I let myself believe that we're doing the right thing, that we're making things better. But we're not. I can't do this anymore. We're done, Julie-Su. We're leaving." He turned away from Julie-Su and whispered sadly, "Good-bye."

Julie-Su caught his arm. She exclaimed, "Are you having a death wish?! There is no 'done!' And what makes you think I'm leaving with you?"

"I wasn't referring to you, Julie-Su," Tails admitted. "I was referring to her."

He pointed at Fiona, who exclaimed, "Well, don't look at me. I'm not going anywhere. If you leave, it's not my fault."

"You lobotomized Fiona years ago with the nanites you injected, Tails," Julie-Su pointed out. "After Nicole was destroyed in New Mobotropolis, you kept her nanites as your own. They were used to keep inmates like her in check. You said it was unbreakable."

"Turns out I made a white lie," Tails shrugged. He turned to Fiona, " _Override code: Fiona Fox 051965._ "

Suddenly, Fiona's body collapsed on the floor, twitching violently and shaking across the floor. Her eyes watered with tears, her pupils shrunk, her mouth shuddering repeatedly.

Tails pleaded, "Come on, Fiona… Please be there…"

Instantly, memories of her life up until that point filled Fiona's mind. Her boyfriend Scourge the Hedgehog slaughtered by Sonic's Regime, spending years as a guinea pig to Tails' experiments, eventually succumbing to his brainwashing and killing many friends and foes alike. It was all too much for her to take. It wasn't long before Fiona's body stopped shaking, and her face was mixed with shock, pain, and distress, and tears falling down her cheeks.

"FIONA!" Tails yelled, frantically grabbing Fiona's body.

"T… T-Tails…!" Fiona shuddered upon seeing Tails' face. "W-What… What did I… What did I do?!"

"Fiona, I'm sorry," Tails apologized to his former love interest. "I'm sorry for everything. It's all my fault. I admit I was wrong. You can do whatever you want with me, but right now, we've got to get out of here!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Julie-Su responded by materializing restraints of red Chaos Energy around Tails' body. "The penalty for desertion and insubordination is death. Doesn't matter though… I never believed a kid should be a member of the Regime anyway…"

Tails glared at his ex-Regime colleague, "You wouldn't."

A wicked smirk crossed her face as Julie-Su channeled her Chaos Energy to tighten her magical restraints on Tails. Tails lets out a scream of pain as the restraints tightened, and at the same time, electrocuted him. As the torture intensified, Fiona completely recovered her senses and came to quickly realize what was going on. In response, she pushed herself off the ground and threw her Chaos Whip at Julie-Su, hitting her in the face and knocking her to the floor.

Fiona demanded, "Get away from him! Now!"

Julie-Su stood up and growled, slowly recovering from the whip mark on her cheek, "You're nothing but a weak, spineless vixen, Destructix! I'm going to do what Sonic should've done a long time ago!"

 **STAGE 1: FIONA FOX (REGIME) VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)**

Fiona responded first with a quick kick to Julie-Su's face, and gave a Chaos Whip crack to her cheek, sending her flying backwards. Julie-Su tried to counter, but Fiona simply whipped her in the face again. She gave two more whip attacks, followed by a series of punches and kicks, and the last blow being an uppercut to the jaw. Julie-Su quickly recovered and blasted Fiona with a series of Chaos Energy attacks before knocking her back at bit.

Fiona recovered and performed a 15-hit combo from her Chaos Whip. Next, Fiona uppercuts Julie-Su into the air and cracked her whip into her neck, swinging her around like a tornado and slamming her head into the ground hard. Fiona gave a few more punches and kicks, followed by an elbow to Julie-Su's forehead. Fiona attempted to punch again, but Julie-Su countered and pushed her back.

"Die, Fiona Fox!" Julie-Su screamed.

"Wanna see a trick with the whip?" Fiona smirked.

The two clashed at each other, and ended with Fiona making the first strike. Before Julie-Su knew what was happening, Fiona delivered a combination attack of punches, kicks, and whip attacks until Julie-Su could take no more. The pink echidna collapsed from exhaustion.

Fiona smiled over Julie-Su unconscious body, "Should've known better than to mess with me, Pink Knux." She turned to Tails and helped him up after he was freed from Julie-Su's restraints, "Are you okay, kid?"

Tails nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Fiona." He paused and stared at Fiona, "You know, it's been a long time since we're on the same side…"

"Way back when I was a Freedom Fighter," Fiona recalled. "Last thing I remember, I dated Sonic before I dumped him for Scourge."

Tails recalled the same memory uneasily, "Yeah. I could hardly remember the time you told me you're not interested in boys my age…" A sudden blush of red circled around his cheeks, memories of his long-lost crush on Fiona starting to get to him, "Just like old times… way back when you still like me… I can't stop thinking about it."

Fiona chuckled at Tails' compliment, "Yeah. You seem to be quite the big dreamer, you know that, kid?" She made a serious look, "But save the reminiscences for later. We've got to hit the dirt, and fast."

Tails snapped out of his blushing and agreed with his ex-crush, "Sounds good to me. Fiona, I'm going to the Insurgency to help them and stop Sonic. Are you coming with me?"

"Might as well," Fiona smiled. "I've got a score to settle with Sonic for what he did to Scourge. You know where you can find them?"

Tails answered, "I made a copy of a digital map from Bunnie's computer. I can take us there with the Tornado, and—"

"HEY!" a voice yelled.

The two turned to see Bean and Bark charging at them.

"What'd ya do to boss-lady?!" Bean shouted, juggling his bombs. "I'll blast y'all sky-high! C'mon, Barky!"

Fiona suggested, "I'll handle the bomb freak! You go after the big guy!"

"Right!" Tails complied, considering he recovered a lot, he was ready to fight this time. The two-tailed fox stood in front of Bark determinedly, "Don't try it, Bark!"

 **STAGE 2: MILES "TAILS" PROWER (REGIME) VS. BARK THE POLAR BEAR (REGIME)**

Bark managed to strike first with two hits. However, Tails recovered by flying with his two tails and kicked him into a nearby statue that crashed into his body. Tails gave five Buster Arm Cannon shots, followed by a two-tailed swing, knocking the polar bear to the ground. Tails fired two Buster Arm Cannon particle beams, slamming Bark's chest. He grabbed a nearby small statue, lifting it and slamming it down over the brute's head. Tails lands a 10-hit combo with his two tails, and then grabbed him by the chest, lifting him into the air and throwing him back down. Next came a couple of blows to Bark's head, followed by a charged Buster Arm Cannon blast.

Tails fired more Buster Arm Cannon shots at Bark, followed by a punch to the right side of his face, and another flying lift-up and throw-down. Bark went in for the kill, but Tails reacted fast with a strong uppercut to the chin. Tails then brought out a stinger missile and fired at Bark, resulting in a big bang attack. Tails attempted to punch Bark, but the brute responded quicker and blocked him, sending Tails back a little bit.

Bark silently stared at Tails, readying his knuckles by cracking them.

"Bring it on!" Tails readied himself.

With that, the two clashed, and Tails struck first, sending Bark flying back. Tails charged all energy into the Buster Arm Cannon to fire a giant laser beam that devastated Bark, taking him down for the count.

Tails grinned, "Never was a big fan of polar bears."

A few minutes later, Bark and Bean were tied up by Fiona's Chaos Whip, which had been in turn-off mode.

"Like you said before, Fiona. Let's hit the dirt," Tails suggested.

Fiona stopped him, "Hold on, little guy. I've got a better idea." She turned to Bean and Bark with a sarcastic grin, "Yeah, we have to admit, the two of us are out of our league messing with your Regime. And we can't afford to get outta this place all by ourselves. So I have a proposition for you…" Her smile grew, "I want to hire you to help those Insurgent guys. And whatever you're being paid, I'll beat it."

Bean and Bark were confused. They had long been working for Sonic to satisfy their desires for money, but… Is Fiona willing to pay even more than Sonic?

Bean asked conflicted, "So… not work for Sonic."

Fiona nodded, "Uh-huh."

"And… work for Insurgies."

"Yep."

"For money."

"That's right."

"Even more money than Sonic?"

"Sure."

"And possibly cupcakes?"

"Pretty much so."

Bean couldn't help but smirk on Fiona's offer. He turned to Bark, "What do you say, big guy? Easy money _is_ easy money, right?" Bark silently agreed with a grin. With that, Fiona released Bark and Bean free from her whip.

Tails whispered to Fiona, "Geez, Fiona, how'd you get them on our side?"

Fiona rolled her eyes with a chuckle, "Heh, mercenaries like them are only for the money. They're so easy to trick. That way, we'll keep them distracted so they won't lead them to us."

Tails smiled, "Oh, I get what you mean. That makes this way too easy. Now, let's get the Tornado."

Bean cheered, "We get to ride your plane? Cool!"

"Hold on!" Tails stopped Bean. "If you take time to listen, we have two problems: #1, the Tornado can't lift four people at once, and #2, Bark is way too heavy!"

Bean pouted, "Darn! Then we'll just have to follow you with our own transport."

Fiona nodded, "Fine by me. Don't blame us if you're left behind."

Bean protested, "No, you don't!"

And thus, the four ex-Regime members made their way out of the throne room, unaware that a half-conscious Julie-Su planted a tracking device on Bean's backside…

* * *

 **Later that night…**

Two machines can be seen flying above the clouds: the Tornado plane, operated by Tails with Fiona standing on its wings, while Bean and Bark followed with their own aircraft, another of the Regime's designs. As they were flying upstate to the direction of the Insurgents' base, a yellow pillar of bright light caught Fiona's attention.

"Over there!" Fiona pointed.

"I see it," Tails agreed. "Time for a detour!"

"Hey, wait for us!" Bean hurried.

As soon as they landed on the ground, it turns out that Neo Metal Sonic has already prepared his ground forces at the ruins of Knothole, once a barren wasteland, now remade into a military outpost for the Regime. Floating before the ensemble of soldiers, he makes his speech while Tails, Fiona, Bean, and Bark hid behind one of the Regime's vehicles to hear it.

"Those who are gathered here are the elite," Neo Metal Sonic declared to his troops. "The best and bravest soldiers this planet offers. Yours is a heroic mission. It requires that you transcend your humanity, and embody the highest One-Planet principles: obedience, order, and control." He motioned to a group of soldiers bringing up another group with burlap sacks over their heads, "But those who defy the High Councilor's commands will suffer for their insolence."

"Tin can loves to hear himself talk," Fiona scoffed softly.

"You're tellin' me!" Bean agreed angrily. "His voice is so buzzy, I can't sleep at night!"

"Firing squad, assemble!" Neo Metal Sonic ordered. "Teach these traitors what happens when they rebel."

The firing squad did as they were told as they were about to shoot the hostages.

"I don't think so," Tails whispered, readying his Buster Arm Cannon.

"It's showtime!" Bean cheered, juggling his already lit bombs.

With Tails' Buster Arm Cannon blasts and Bean's bombs, they manage to decimate every soldier assembled on sight. Fiona disarmed the firing squad's rifles with her whip before they would fire, while Bark charged and flipped over all the vehicles with his brute strength.

With the military outpost occupied by Tails and Bean's demolition techniques, Fiona and Bark stood before Neo Metal Sonic.

Fiona said, "Now then, piece of hedgehog metal. Enough talk."

Before they could react, Neo Metal Sonic transformed his arms into metal tentacles and grabbed the two ex-Regime operatives.

"Yes," he agreed. "Quite enough."

He slammed them a few times into the ground face-first and the same to their backs. He then tossed the two into the distance. Fiona and Bark fell through the air and crash-landed into the abandoned Freedom Fighter HQ. Bark got up first, only to see Fiona passed out.

"Desertion, Bark the Polar Bear?" Neo Metal Sonic asked amusingly. "Poor timing for you and Fiona Fox, don't you think?"

Bark didn't say anything, but by narrowing his eyes, he knows Neo Metal Sonic was right. After working as Sonic's lapdog for so long, he should've done this sooner.

 **STAGE 3: BARK THE POLAR BEAR (REGIME) VS. NEO METAL SONIC (REGIME)**

Neo Metal Sonic threw a Chaos Fireball which hit Bark first; however, Bark recovered and punched the robot many times with his huge fists. Bark jumped and performed a body slam, smashing Neo Metal Sonic to the dirt.

Bark tried to attack again, but Neo Metal Sonic kept blocking every single attack. Neo Metal Sonic slammed Bark to the ground by enlarging his metal tentacles and sweep Bark around effortlessly. Bark quickly recovered and delivered another series of punches. Bark's punches were so absurdly super-enhanced that parts of Freedom Fighter HQ were actually beginning to fall off. Finally, Bark delivered a punch that sent Neo Metal Sonic into a nearby flying saucer that exploded and bounced him back, followed by a uppercut and a hammer punch that floored the robot.

Neo Metal Sonic's armor was moderately damaged due to Bark's massive punches. For the first time, the robotic hedgehog was heavily confused; he copied data from Mobius's greatest heroes with the power of Chaos, and he has become super-strong. He considered himself the ultimate robot, and yet… how could Bark be so tough? It was very clear that this polar bear has the strength of a thousand Mobians, making him no pushover, even for a super-powerful robot.

It's time to end this quick. Bark unleashed a massive thousand-punch technique that rained endless fists on Neo Metal Sonic, damaging his armor and body heavily with each blow. The last blow was a punch that pierced through Neo Metal Sonic's chest, ripping out the core from his body.

And that was the end of Neo Metal Sonic, whose red glowing eyes disappeared from his screening pupils and his body exploded into a small sea of flames. Not just a sea of flames, but a wave of pure Chaos Energy that caused Freedom Fighter HQ and the Regime outpost to collapse completely into rubble and scraps of metal. Luckily, the blast didn't hit Tails, Bean, and Fiona.

Bark smirked at his handiwork, proud of ridding the Regime of another spineless lackey. After dusting his hands, he helped Fiona up as she looked at him.

"Well, no more playing robot toys for me," Fiona shrugged. "Let's go. We've got some Insurgents to warn."

Once again, Tails, Fiona, Bark, and Bean left for the Insurgents' base. There was dissension within the ranks of the One-Planet Regime: three have been K.I.A.'d, and four defected. Still, that doesn't stop them from carrying out their genocidal master plan.

* * *

 **Insurgency HQ**

Knuckles was alone in the meeting room, swinging his fists in the air for training. Doing so gives him brief moments of rest before a big battle. A while after the battle in Prison Island, Insurgency Shadow was pondering on what to do next, as he had to attend to the resistance fighters who were injured during the fight, hence the reason Knuckles must prepare himself for anything. As soon as he finished training, Knuckles wiped sweat from his forehead.

"That's a warm-up," Knuckles smiled to himself. "I sure hope Julie-Su sees this. No, not here in _this_ world, but _our_ world."

He was interrupted by a small explosion from the wall. The Regime versions of Tails, Fiona, Bean, and Bark stood before Knuckles.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Fiona asked Tails.

"Looks like an old funhouse to me," Bean shrugged.

"Oh, my gosh!" Tails gasped in disbelief upon seeing Knuckles. "Knuckles! No, not our Knuckles, but THE Knuckles! Is that really you?!"

"That's me," Knuckles said sarcastically. "And I'm sure as heck not the echidna in the mask."

"If you're here, that means your world's Espio's here!" Tails guessed.

"In the flesh…" a voice echoed.

Espio the Chameleon emerged from the shadows and threw a kunai at Tails and his group, but Fiona caught it with her hand.

"Aw, c'mon! We're not here to cause any trouble," Fiona argued.

Bean agreed, "Yeah, like she said! Where's Shadow? Our Shadow?"

"He's out somewhere not being a murderer," Knuckles answered sternly.

"Come on, guys," Tails fretted. "You know you can't hit us like that."

"I wasn't trying to," Espio responded.

Fiona looked closer on the kunai she held to notice there was a timer that reached zero on the LED screen. Before Fiona or the others knew what was happening, the kunai exploded, knocking Fiona out and disorienting Tails, Bark, and Bean.

"Leave those guys to me!" Knuckles shouted, charging at Bean and Bark, while Espio confronted Tails.

Espio glared, "You may have found our secret base, but unfortunately, we won't let you get away, Regime lapdogs!"

 **STAGE 4: MILES "TAILS" PROWER (REGIME) VS. ESPIO THE CHAMELEON**

Tails responded by spinning his two tails, knocking Espio to the ground. He slammed his fists down on Espio's back and fired a Buster Arm Cannon shot on him before backing up. All the while, Tails made sure to pull his punches so as to not inflict a lot of damage on Espio, but give just enough to subdue him and allow them to talk.

Espio performed a Leaf Swirl on Tails, which dizzied him upon impact. Espio then punched the two-tailed fox into the far wall. However, Tails managed to punch Espio and give him a kick with his boot, sending him flipping in the air. Espio countered with a kunai, but Tails dodged and punched the chameleon a few times. The last blow was an uppercut to the jaw, pushing Espio to the point of disorientation.

"That's enough, Espio," Tails pleaded. "We're on your side."

After a few seconds of recovering, Espio confusedly looked at Tails, "What's going on?"

Knuckles stopped his scuffle with Bean and Bark, and Fiona recovered. The red echidna shared Espio's confused look, "Yeah, what's going on?"

Tails motioned everyone to gather round, "We need you to listen up. And you're gonna have to trust us. There's no time."


	12. The Pink Angel

**Insurgency HQ**

After the previous scuffle, Knuckles and Espio called everyone for an emergency meeting. Needless to say, Mainstream Bunnie and Insurgency Shadow were both apprehensive about seeing One-Planet Regime operatives slipping their way into Insurgency HQ, but the good news is, since they are more than willing to join their side, they accepted.

Of course, they were now faced with bad news. From what Tails, Fiona, Bean, and Bark were saying, Sonic's sanity has finally taken a downhill. He was ready to destroy New Mobotropolis and Station Square to demonstrate the chaos that would arise in his absence. Afterwards, when Sonic was done turning both cities into craters, he'll be coming after the Mainstream Mobius to conquer it as well. Not just Mobius Prime, but every world in the multiverse.

"I'm telling you, it's true," Tails explained. "New Mobotropolis and Station Square will be history. And then he's coming after your world and the whole multiverse."

Bean added, "Gone! Dead! Kaput! All those worlds will be blown to smithereens!"

"Oh, mah stars…" Bunnie shook her head. "Ah can't believe he'd do it. It's insane."

"Insane doesn't even begin to describe it," Fang nodded. "It's even worse than believing."

Amy exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table, "Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing! We've got to stop Sonic!"

Khan agreed determinedly, "She's right. We have to stay here and give the people of Mobius something to fight for. If we work together, we can defeat the One-Planet Regime."

Knuckles pointed out, "I don't know. Fighting against a whole regime that holds almost the whole planet won't be easy. Still, it's gonna be one heck of a battle."

Insurgency Shadow spoke bluntly, "No."

Everyone turned to him surprised as he surveyed the group with him.

"I brought you here to get the Chaos Neutralizer," he told them. "And that plan failed. You're all going home. And then I'm destroying the inter-dimensional transporter."

"It won't stop him from coming over," Knuckles pointed out.

"It'll buy you time to prepare," Insurgency Shadow assured.

"Dr. Finitevus sacrificed his life for us," Espio told Insurgency Shadow. "We will not dishonor him by just leaving."

Nobody said anything, until Mainstream Shadow had an idea, "We have an alternative. We bring over our Sonic. Finish this fight."

Amy agreed with Mainstream Shadow, "Yeah, that's right! If we work together with our Sonic, we can beat your Sonic, and then we can—"

"One Sonic in this world is bad enough," Insurgency Shadow spat.

Espio eased, "He's not like yours. Don't let emotion cloud your judgment."

Before anyone else could say anything, there was an explosion coming from the far right end of the room. Everyone looked to see a collection of villains entering the base. Leading the group is the Regime version of the former Iron King Jun Kun, no longer wearing his nearly-impervious silver armor, but dressed in a large black soldier's outfit, and he was no longer holding his Tremor Mace.

"We found the Insurgents! Destroy them, and the traitors with them!" Jun Kun pointed at the heroes. The villains charged at the heroes with a thunderous battle cry. The group of villains was ranging from Lightning Lynx to Sergeant Simian to Flying Frog to Predator Hawk to just about any villain to have ever lived.

Khan exclaimed, "Impossible! How did they…?!"

"I thought Finitevus said this place was secure!" Fang argued.

"You said it the last time!" Bunnie pointed out. She then spotted something glowing from Bean's backside. "Hey, what's that on his back?"

Tails noticed the glowing device, "It's a tracking device! Julie-Su must've placed it on Bean's back before we left!"

Bean exclaimed, "What?! I didn't see any tracking device on my …" He then noticed the tracking device glowing in his back, "HOLY MEATBALLS!"

Espio growled in realization, "Those Regime fiends! They had the defectors lead them right to us!" He furiously took out his kunai, "My ninja powers will punish them!"

Fang groaned, reloading his sniper rifle, "This has got to be the worst strategy I've ever seen!"

Fiona shouted, readying her whip, "Hey, instead of running your mouth, you should open your eyes to what's in front of us!"

Tails agreed, holding his Buster Arm Cannon, "You heard the lady! Let's take 'em down!"

Bunnie smirked as she prepared her arm cannon, "Let's show 'em what happens when they mess with the Freedom Fighters… and the Insurgents!"

Khan charged his thunder staff and proclaimed, "For the free people of Mobius!"

Amy swung her hammer with determination, "Freedom Fighters and Insurgency Forever!"

Removing the tracking device from his backside, Bean gleefully juggled his bombs, "Everybody's got a front row seat for the big finale! YAHOOOOOOOO!"

Bark silently cracked his knuckles, Knuckles doing the same with his, "Let's do this!"

Mainstream Shadow gave the order, " **GO!** "

Each of the heroes split up and charged at the villains with their own battle cry. Some fought individually while others fought as teams. Amy, on the other hand, chose to take on Jun Kun, her old nemesis from the Iron Dominion War.

Amy greeted with a smirk, "Well, if it isn't the Iron King! Long time no see, huh, big guy?"

Jun Kun rejected, "The Iron King is dead. I am now the Iron General."

"Iron General, huh? That's a funny new name," Amy giggled. "But you don't look so tough." She motioned her hand, daring Jun Kun to face her, "I've beaten you before. I can do it again."

"Amy Rose…" Jun Kun declared, taking out a rocket launcher. "Now you'll learn to fear me."

"One question, Jun Kun… How's it that Sonic made you one of his goons? Is it way better than being king of the Iron Dominion?" Amy asked.

"He appreciates my talents," Amy responded by firing a rocket at Amy, who deflected every shot with every swing of her Piko Piko Hammer. Jun Kun just continued to fire until he was finally out of rockets. Frustrated, he threw his weapon to the ground.

Jun Kun glared, "You miserable little wretch! I'll smash you to pieces!"

 **STAGE 1: AMY ROSE VS. JUN KUN THE IRON KING (REGIME)**

Amy got the first punch as she sent Jun Kun flying backwards with her Piko Piko Hammer, crashing him to the wall. Jun Kun grabbed a nearby overhead TV screen and throwing it at Amy, but she managed to dodge it with a roll. Amy jumped over Jun Kun and swung her hammer in the back, sending him crashing into another wall.

Amy performed a flying Piko Piko swing that smacked Jun Kun to the forehead, followed by a sweep swing, an upper swing, and a hard thrust swing across the face. She then spun around to perform a Tornado Hammer, producing a small tornado that sent Jun Kun flying and spinning in the air before collapsing. Jun Kun ran in to retaliate, but Amy swung the Iron General in the chest, sending him flying to the far opposite wall. Amy noticed an electrical cabal above them and swung her hammer in the chest, sending him flying upwards where he was electrocuted. He fell to the ground and Amy unloaded a 20-hit hammer combo before Jun Kun fell over exhausted.

"Thank your pals I'm not so rough on you," Amy stated. "If you're supposed to be a king, you should've known the most important thing about respect."

Jun Kun grinned, "If the Iron Dominion has taught me one thing, it is better to be feared than to be respected."

He attempted to punch Amy, but before anything could happen, the pink hedgehog disappeared in a giant cloud of smoke.

Knuckles saw this before he too, disappeared.

* * *

 **Angel Island**

The two reappeared someplace else. Knuckles was the first to recognize the familiar landscape. They were on a mountainside surrounded by a tropical jungle, the clouds submerged with the land, and the ocean was way down below. The most interesting part was the sight of a large green gemstone in a small altar as far as the eye can see. For Knuckles, he can see the gemstone a few miles away.

"Angel Island," Knuckles stated confusedly. "How in the world…"

"I brought you here," a familiar voice explained.

Amy turned around to see Knuckles frozen by a red glow of magic. Leaning on his frozen body was this world's version of Mammoth Mogul.

"You!" Amy exclaimed. "We don't have time for you. Get lost."

"Calm yourself, Amy Rose," Mogul eased. "We have much to discuss."

"You've tricked my friends before, Mogul," Amy told him. "But I won't fall for your lies."

 **STAGE 2: AMY ROSE VS. MAMMOTH MOGUL (PARALLEL)**

Mogul reacted first by fired magical blasts towards Amy. Amy recovered and performed an aerial swing, knocking Mogul down with his hammer. Mogul gave Amy a few punches before Amy pressed her Piko Piko Hammer to the chest, crashing him towards the mountain wall. Mogul got up, only to be smashed to the ground again by Amy's hammer to the back of his face. She proceeded to provide a 15-hit hammer combo before Mogul pushed her away with a magical barrier.

Mogul used telekinesis to levitate a bunch of boulders and throw it on Amy, but the pink hedgehog dodged them all. Amy took the chance to perform her 20-hit hammer combo at Mogul, the last blow an upper swing to the jaw that lifted him into the air. With Mogul airborne, Amy jumped from mountain edge to mountain edge to swing her hammer down, bringing a mighty slam over the Ancient Mobian's chest, crashing him to the ground and causing a small vibration on the mountain.

Mogul tried to stand, only to fall to the ground defeated. Knuckles suddenly felt his body moving at being freed from Mogul's freezing spell.

Amy approached Knuckles, "You okay?"

Knuckles sighed with relief, "I will when I get a chance to kick his butt."

Amy nodded as they approached the weakened Mogul, "Now, Mogul, you're sending us back."

Mogul simply chuckled at the both of them, "Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna…" He pushed himself up to his feet, "Your friends will survive their skirmish. If you truly wish to help them, you'll heed me."

Amy and Knuckles looked at each other unsurely. However, Amy sighed and gave Knuckles a nod. As megalomaniacal and egotistic as Mogul was, they wouldn't go out of his way to physically kidnap them just to beat them up. If he was, it would've involved more cunning and conflict put into this plan. So this had to be urgent.

Amy said, "Let's hear it. And be quick about it."

 **Back at Insurgency HQ…**

"It's the Fearsome Foursome reunion tour!" Fang grinned.

"Three for one, and one for three!" Bean cheered. "But wait, isn't the Fearsome Foursome supposed to be four instead of three?"

Fang shrugged as he, Bean, and Bark charged at Predator Hawk, Lightning Lynx, and Flying Frog.

Meanwhile, both Shadows took down Jun Kun with their combined Chaos techniques, and looked at each other.

"We need to get the transporter out," Insurgency Shadow said. "If it's damaged, you'll never get back home."

"Understood," Mainstream Shadow nodded, albeit a little disagreeing of his counterpart's decision.

 **Back at Angel Island…**

"We all know of Sonic's plan, Mogul," Knuckles said. "This is not a bit of a surprise to us."

"Yes… but do you know how he intends to execute this plan?" Mogul smirked.

Amy shrugged, "Nope, not a clue. If you hadn't brought us here…"

Soon, there was a roar overhead. Both looked up and gasped to see an armada of airships resembling fishes from the ocean: Whales, mako sharks, sawfishes, manta rays, and the flagship leading the armada was a massive ship the shape of a whale shark. The only similarity is every single battleships colored pink.

"By Chaos!" Knuckles exclaimed in shocked. "Is that…"

Amy guessed worriedly, "Another Egg Fleet?"

Mogul corrected her, " _Rose Fleet._ "

Amy and Knuckles asked confusedly, "Rose Fleet?"

Mogul explained, "An amassing armada of flying ships which comprised of one third of the One-Planet Government's military might, the two thirds beings the ground military and the Space Colony ARK, which had been destroyed by the Insurgents."

Knuckles asked, "Who's in charge?"

Amy hoped to herself, "Please don't tell me it's…"

Mogul waved his hands to open up a vision portal revealing Regime Amy sitting on a high chair at the main deck with a sinister smug.

"…me?" Amy whispered fearfully.

"Those fools…" Regime Amy snorted gleefully. "They'll never know what hit them!" She then manically laughed to herself, much to Mainstream Amy's despair, before the image disappeared.

"No…" Amy exclaimed, horrified at what she had seen. She held her hand to her heart, "I can't… How could she…? I…"

"Surprised?" Mogul said to Amy. "Your counterpart is the Assistant High Councilor, Sonic the Hedgehog's second-in-command. After the death of Dr. Eggman, Amy conquered his robotic empire and declared herself its new queen. The robots have been loyal to her and the One-Planet Government ever since."

Amy was horrified even more, "So this world's me is the NEW Eggman?!"

Knuckles shook his head, "Not cool."

"And that is not all…" Mogul waved his hands to change the image of the vision portal, revealing Enerjak gathering an army of Echidna warriors, shocking Knuckles' of his own counterpart's intentions.

"No…" Knuckles gasped. "My… My people! How could they…?!"

"Shocking, isn't it?" Mogul asked. "The might of the entire Rose Fleet and the great Echidna race preparing to subjugate two entire cities under the orders of a single Mobian. If only two were able to stop them…" He closes the vision portal with his hand.

Amy and Knuckles eyed the Ancient Mobian. Even though he was helping them, both knew Mogul wanted something out of this. Knuckles spoke first, "Why would you help us, Mogul? If we succeed, it'll result in brand new conflict that will re-energize your magic."

"In the short term, yes," Mogul agreed. "But if Sonic consolidates his rule, the conflict which fuels my powers will cease permanently."

Amy and Knuckles nodded at each other.

"As much as we'd hate to thank you, you've done something selfless for once," Knuckles pointed out.

Mogul grinned, "No need. The enemy of my enemy—"

Knuckles warned, "We're not friends. Our interests merely align. Temporarily."

Suddenly, they were interrupted by the arrival of Regime Julie-Su, who appeared from a portal of red Chaos Energy.

Amy exclaimed, "Julie-Su!"

Mogul said, "You have been discovered."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Gee, thanks for letting us know, Captain Obvious."

Before Knuckles or Mogul would act, Julie-Su materialized her Chaos Energy restraints around their bodies, holding them into submission.

Amy cried, "Knuckles! Mogul!"

Knuckles groaned, "Darn! I'm brought down again!" He turned to Mogul, "Can you use your magic to set us free?"

Mogul answered sadly, "I cannot."

Knuckles shouted, "What do you mean, you can't?! You're still drained of your powers?!"

Julie-Su sneered at the group before her, "First Tails, then Fiona, then Bean and Bark, now Mammoth Mogul? The Insurgents are becoming more than a minor nuisance than I thought."

Amy stated, "The Julie-Su I know wouldn't hurt her boyfriend!"

"No duplicate's a friend of mine," Julie-Su grinned. "Not even Knuckles. Killing all of you will be a pleasure!"

 **STAGE 3: AMY ROSE VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)**

Amy threw the first hit, knocking Julie-Su to the ground. Amy delivered a series of hammer swings to Julie-Su's body. However, Julie-Su countered by punching Amy with her Chaos Fists. Amy punched Julie-Su forward, where she bounced off the mountain wall and landed at the pink hedgehog's feet. Amy performed another hammer combo, followed by a Tornado Hammer. Julie-Su got behind Amy and kicked her to the ground, before Amy spun her leg around, knocking Julie-Su. Both girls exchanged a series of punches and blows before Julie-Su blocked Amy's hammer and pushed her back.

"You will die here, duplicate!" Julie-Su declared.

"Today's not my day, Julie-Su!" Amy responded.

The two clashed, but Amy struck first, sending Julie-Su flying back, before delivering a 25-hit hammer combo, until Julie-Su finally went down.

Amy stood over Julie-Su's unconscious body, "Getting a little bit ahead of yourself, aren't ya?"

Knuckles and Mogul found themselves free from Julie-Su's restraints. The red echidna dusted himself off and sighed, "That's better."

The Ancient Mobian grinned, "How virtuous. I saved you from certain death, and in return, you saved me. At the very least, I can offer you a bit of more help."

"An excellent proposal. Here's my offer," Amy smiled. "I want you to take me to Amy's ship. I'm going to have a little chat with myself." She readied her hammer to make her point.

Knuckles offered, "And I'm going after Enerjak. But the problem is, he's got command over the Master Emerald, as long as it has Finitevus's hex. If you touch it, it'll risk turning you into Enerjak, or worse. And the other problem, the only way to destroy the hex is to sacrifice one's life with Tikal's Prayer…" He then sighed sadly, "…the same way my dad died to save me."

Mogul pointed out, "The hex's hold over the Master Emerald weakened following the death of its creator. And because of that, you are free to use the Master Emerald's power against Enerjak whenever you wish. Heretofore, by chanting Tikal's Prayer, the hex can be destroyed without sacrificing lives. You are free to destroy it."

Knuckles smirked at hearing this, holding his fists together, "That's all I wanted to hear. Sending myself six feet under will be a piece of cake."

"Shall I take you to the altar of the Master Emerald to confront your duplicate?" Mogul asked.

Knuckles shook his head, "No thanks. I'll be fine on my own."

"Very well," Mogul nodded with a bow of his head. "I'll leave you to your duty, as I will later leave with Amy Rose's."

With the snap of his fingers, Mogul and Amy disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Knuckles alone with a half-conscious Julie-Su.

Julie-Su groaned as she attempted to stand, "No… I'm not… finished… yet…"

Knuckles turned to Julie-Su and cracked his fists. He said sternly to the evil counterpart of his girlfriend, "Now, Julie-Su… We've got a lot to talk about."

Julie-Su gasped as Knuckles walks towards her, "W-W-What are you doing?! No! Don't! Noooooooo…!"

* * *

 **The Rose Fleet Whale Shark Flagship  
Main Deck**

"Hurry up!" Regime Amy ordered from the seat of her chair. "We cast off with the Echidnas within the next hour."

Regime Amy had been in control of the Eggman Empire's robots for years now, even after a few tried to assassinate her in revenge for alleging with Sonic's murder of their creator, Dr. Eggman. However, Amy managed to not only beat the robots to submission, but she rebuilt the mighty Egg Fleet as well. Now, Amy ruled the Eggman Empire— or rather, the Rose Empire— with an iron fist, and no one dared question her position of power.

Until today that is.

At that minute, a crash was heard. From the hatch doors that busted open, Mainstream Amy stormed in with Piko Piko Hammer in tow, staring at her Regime duplicate.

"Amy!" Mainstream Amy shouted. "Tell your ships to stand down. They won't be following Sonic's pointless orders."

"Who gives you the authority, imposter?" Regime Amy spat. "I'm in charge here!"

Mainstream Amy replied, "I heard about what you're doing with Sonic. You're gonna burn down two whole cities because of what a few guys did to you!"

"Like we have a choice?" Regime Amy's dark expression festered. "Those people don't give us the respect we deserve. They can't be any different than the evils we sought to destroy. If that means we have to make examples by destroying whole cities, we will."

"You don't mean that!" Mainstream Amy exclaimed.

"Oh, I do!" Regime Amy smiled cruelly. She stood up from her chair and circled around her Mainstream counterpart, "But unlike those villains, the One-Planet Regime is ambitious about conquering for peace. While you sit there, playing around with your little toys, the REAL evils of this world are still running loose! Fighting for freedom is no longer enough! It's nothing more than a meaningless cause!"

Mainstream Amy protested, circling back, "But isn't that what we're supposed to do? We're Freedom Fighters! That's who we are! We're heroes, not conquerors!"

Regime Amy countered, "We want true peace. True peace achieved our OWN way. If we can't do it, no one can. If the people don't want it, no one would. There is no such thing as freedom in this world. Only power. And only through power can we achieve true peace. If we have to use force to bring peace, so be it."

Mainstream Amy scoffed, "By hurting innocent lives? Now you're just being bossy!"

"You think I'm bossy?" Regime Amy scoffed back. "Look at what we've done for this world!" She thrusts out her hands to gesture around her, "Five years ago, we wouldn't have dreamed that we would get as monumental as we are today. Thanks to Sonic, we made Mobius much safer and prosperous than it had been."

Mainstream Amy corrected, "No, you only made things better for yourself. Better yet, Sonic only makes things better for _himself_ and NOT his so-called friends."

Regime Amy raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Mainstream Amy explained, "I'll tell you what I'm talking about!" Her expression turned into a smirk, "Sonic always relies on his people to do the dirty work for him. He doesn't see any of you as his friends. Only as pawns. Sonic doesn't care about you. He's a master manipulator, and he's playing all of you for saps! Besides, Sonic can't love!"

Regime Amy was almost about to lose it when Mainstream Amy continued her insult, "The only person Sonic ever cared about is him! He'll always rely on himself before even thinking about you. Working all day long in his so-called regime must've made you dumber that I thought. Or perhaps you forgot that Sonic killed Vector when he tried to stand up for us?"

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" Regime Amy screamed, finally losing her temper. Her eyes began to burst with tears, "Sonic loves me, and I love him! Our love is real!"

"Oh, really?" Mainstream Amy grinned sarcastically. "Yeah, sure, he's in love with you. But don't you see that his 'devotion' to you was on and off, on and off, on and off? If all of this happened five years ago, Sonic would've ditched Sally for you since she's just as worthless, right?"

"Don't… ever say… that name…" Regime Amy trembled. Sally Acorn was something she wanted to forget more than ever. Something she wanted Sonic to forget more than ever. Ever since she became Sonic's right-hand woman and 'new lover.'

"Which reminds me... Who does Sonic love more?" Mainstream Amy asked with cruel glee. "You… or Sally?"

"DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" Regime Amy screamed at the top of her lungs, and she took out her large Spiked Hammer. She charged at her Mainstream counterpart and swung at her, but Mainstream Amy countered with her Piko Piko Hammer. The two Amys start a clash of hammers, each swing perfectly shielding the holder.

"Now do you get it?" Mainstream Amy pointed out during their clash. "Sonic was using you. He's not the same hedgehog you and I fell in love with; the Sonic I know was strong, brave, caring, and kind. The Sonic I know wouldn't treat his friends, even Tails, his little brother, like tools. The Sonic I know wouldn't be such a big, bad, egotistical tyrant. I know my dear Sonic… but your world's Sonic? He's _not_ him."

"SHUT UP!" Regime Amy roared tearfully. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ANYMORE! THE ONLY THING I WANT… **IS TO SEE YOU DEAD!** "

Mainstream Amy pushed her duplicate away, readying her hammer, "Then I guess it's time to put the hammer down."

 **STAGE 4: AMY ROSE VS. AMY ROSE (REGIME)**

Regime Amy swung her hammer, in which Amy blocked the blow with her own hammer, knocking her back. Amy recovered, and swung her hammer into Regime Amy's face. She then performed not one, but three Tornado Hammers that flustered Regime Amy with dizzying small tornadoes. Amy performed a combination attack of upper swings, the last blow a thrust, knocking Regime Amy backwards into a nearby computer monitor as it exploded. Amy swung her hammer to smash her Regime counterpart into the deck's high chair behind them, breaking it into pieces and landing her at the feet of her Mainstream counterpart.

Berserk with rage, Regime Amy attempted to hit her Mainstream counterpart with multiple swings, but considering Regime Amy lost her temper, she lost her focus as well. Amy dodged every single swing of Regime Amy's Spiked Hammer until Regime Amy was exhausted to the core. Amy retaliated with a 15-hit hammer combo, knocking her back each time the hammer connected. Mainstream Amy then kicked at her duplicate's legs, sending her to the ground.

Amy grabbed her downed Regime counterpart and threw her over her shoulder. She then delivered a series of quick blows and strikes to different parts of the body before finally knocking her Regime duplicate down in the back. Mainstream Amy attempted to strike again, but Regime Amy blocked and pushed her back.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Regime Amy screamed frustratingly.

"I wonder what Cream thinks of me in this world," Mainstream Amy wondered out loud.

Both Amys clashed at each other. However, Mainstream Amy struck first, and sent her Regime counterpart flying back. Regime Amy slowly stood up and tried to fight back, but suddenly Amy's eyes narrowed with strong determination. Regime Amy was in big trouble now.

Mainstream Amy rushed towards her Regime counterpart and performed a massive 40-hit hammer combination technique, followed by two Tornado Hammers, and an upper swing to the jaw, sending her flying up in the air. Finally, Amy jumped and swung her hammer down with all her might, sending Regime Amy crashing to the ground.

As a result of the assault of blows, Regime Amy dropped her Spiked Hammer to the floor. Mainstream Amy looked at the hammer, raising her own and then crushing it underneath its solid yellow dished end.

"Guess who got the hammer down?" Amy cracked. "That's right, it's you!"

"NO!" Regime Amy screeched, using any adrenaline in her body to help herself up. "I WON'T LET YOU WIN!"

Nonchalant, Mainstream Amy mightily swung her Piko Piko Hammer, sending her Regime counterpart flying through the hatch of a nearby escape pod. Mainstream Amy pressed a few buttons on the control pad, closing the hatch and trapping Regime Amy inside.

"Next stop, way down below!" Amy smiled, pulling down a lever near the escape pod.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Regime Amy screamed frantically, but it was too late as the escape pod she was trapped in rocketed out of the airship and fell into the ocean below.

Meanwhile, Amy stood over hundreds of Egg Pawns surrounding her, amazed at what they have witnessed. Just like the airships, the robots were colored pink.

The leader of the Egg Pawns spoke up, "She's… she's gone! You… defeated her! You defeated the Assistant High Councilor! That was amazing!"

Amy blushed and giggled, "Tee-hee! You really think so?"

The Egg Pawn leader turned to his fellow robots, "All hail Amy Rose! The Assistant High Councilor has been overthrown!"

All of the robots saluted Amy, "All hail Amy Rose! The Assistant High Councilor has been overthrown!"

Amy asked surprised, "You mean, you're… you're all happy about it?"

"Very happy," the Egg Pawn leader nodded. "You said it yourself. The One-Planet Regime's authority has become exceedingly tyrannical, and the people of this planet still suffer. They speak of justice, yet they refuse to give us freedom! But you freed us. You freed us innocent robots— now Amy won't be able to hit us with a mallet anymore!"

Amy shouted proudly, "Ha! I knew my evil twin was pushing you around."

"And if there is anything we can do to help you in return, you will have it. From this day forth, we will fight for you," the Egg Pawn leader concluded as he and his fellow robots bowed before Amy, who smiled with confidence.

"Alright!" Amy declared. "Listen up, there's a big war happening out there, and my friends are in big trouble. But help is on the way. We will fight, but it won't be for chaos. It'll be for peace! We stand alongside Mobius's finest heroes and defeat a big evil no other force this planet can handle!" Her voice became loud and proud, "Rose Fleet! Let's unite with the Insurgency and the Freedom Fighters, and together, we'll teach that High Councilor he messing with the wrong planet! We will fight, and we will make the world a better place for everyone! Are you with me?!" She raised a fist to ask their approval.

All of the robots erupted into cheers. The tides of war may change in their favor after all.

"But first," Amy suggested. "We're going to make one quick stop…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
** And that's the end of Amy's chapter! I've decided to make the final battle between Mainstream Knuckles and Enerjak an extra chapter, and I'm going to make it as extreme and intense as possible. Until then, see you later!


	13. The Chaos Storm

**Angel Island  
Master Emerald Altar**

"Make haste, my brothers!" Enerjak ordered the Echidna warriors. "The Rose Fleet will pick us up within the hour. Flame Legion, take the swordfish ships. Frost Legion, take the manta ray ships. The rest of you, come with me to the whale shark flagship."

Regime Knuckles had been in control of the Echidna race for years now, even after they tried to take him in for questioning after bonding himself with Dr. Finitevus's hex on the Master Emerald. However, Knuckles managed to not only kill the Echidna government in response, but the leaders of the Echidna Dark Legion and the Brotherhood of Guardians as well. Now Knuckles, as Enerjak, ruled the Echidnas with an iron fist, and nobody dared question his position of power.

Until today that is.

At that minute, Mainstream Knuckles glided in the air and landed near the altar of the Master Emerald, staring at his Regime counterpart who stood on top of a broken pillar.

"Enerjak!" Mainstream Knuckles shouted. "It's game over! For your plans, and your Regime!"

Enerjak turned to his Mainstream counterpart and floated off the pillar towards the ground, "So, duplicate me, we meet again. If you think you can defeat me for a third time, you're terribly mistaken."

Knuckles asked, "What?"

Enerjak grasped his fists and suddenly released a surge of tremendous Chaos Energy upon himself.

He explained, "The last time I faced you, I only used a small fraction of my powers! The reason why I lost to you twice… My power was almost depleted from years of battle with the Insurgents. I needed to replenish all of my energy, so I took some time to recover with the Master Emerald." His power continued spreading like a violent wind into nearly god-like proportions. "And now that I'm fully charged, it's time we get over to the real fight."

"You mean… You were weak because you wasted amounts of Chaos Energy?" Knuckles asked.

Enerjak chuckled, "Yeah, well… You know, Knuckles, it's been a while since I've had to use my godlike powers." His voice interrupted into triumphant laughter, "You have no idea how happy I am. The thought of using such incredible power…! I must confess, it's GOOD being a god! But don't sweat the details… I'm still going to smash you up!"

Knuckles readied himself, "Not if I smash YOU up first!"

Enerjak's body furiously surged with Chaos Energy. His voice rose to a mighty roar, "Come on! I dare you! I'll sink my fists into your body until you can take no more!"

Without a second thought, Knuckles jumped into the altar and landed straight on top of the Master Emerald.

Enerjak exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"

Knuckles explained, "Something an old friend of mine did for me before. I'll return the favor by doing the same for you. No matter what, I won't give up the life my friends fought to save!" His voice rose with determination, "I'll set this right! It's my duty! My responsibility!"

With a roar, Knuckles channeled the energies of the Master Emerald towards his body, the black hex surrounding it ineffective against him. Mammoth Mogul's words couldn't be true that since Dr. Finitevus died, the hex has indeed grown weaker.

"No… Impossible…!" Enerjak gasped. "He used my own power against me?!"

With a powerful flash of light that's too blind for the Echidna warriors to see, Knuckles rose from the ground, his skin pulsing from red to pink.

"Hyper… KNUCKLES?!"

The transformed Hyper Knuckles eyed Enerjak with a confident smirk, "NOW we're even. And what Sonic used to say, I'm going to _beat_ the evil out of you!"

Enerjak fists pulsed with powerful Chaos Energy, "Prove it, then!"

With that, the two Echidnas collided with their fists, waves of Chaos Energy spreading throughout the skies like wildfire. Hyper Knuckles struck first, shoving Enerjak's body at lightning speed away from Angel Island and into a faraway desert. Hyper Knuckles released his grip on Enerjak afterwards, and the two looked each other in the eye, still floating in the air.

Hyper Knuckles smiled, "Just like old times."

Enerjak argued, "You're insane!"

 **SUPER STAGE: HYPER KNUCKLES VS. ENERJAK**

Hyper Knuckles flew forward and punched Enerjak, then proceeded to go on the offensive by unleashing a series of punches. Enerjak was continuously slugged by the hundred punches, forcing Enerjak to teleport behind him and fire a large beam of Chaos Energy. However, Hyper Knuckles proves invulnerable to it. Hyper Knuckles performed another hundred-punch technique that decimated Enerjak, but below the final blow was dealt, the Chaos demigod countered by punching Hyper Knuckles so hard he flew through multiple giant rocks. Enerjak then flew after him and delivered a fast combo of Chaos Fists at Hyper Knuckles, knocking him to the ground.

"You're outmatched! Give up!" Enerjak demanded.

In response, Hyper Knuckles charged himself with Chaos Energy. In lightning speed, he punched Enerjak into the air, flew after him, kicked him further back, and then fired a powerful Chaos Fireball, which nearly knocked Enerjak to the ground. Hyper Knuckles then lands to the ground and fires a large volley of Chaos Fireballs at Enerjak, but Enerjak counted by firing his Chaos Beams to destroy all of them.

When the smoke cleared from this collision of Chaos Fireballs and Chaos Beams, Enerjak suddenly strikes Hyper Knuckles, stunning him. He then proceeded to deliver a large flurry of blows to the dazed Hyper Knuckles before his final strike sends him into a wall, paralyzed.

"This ends now!" Enerjak declared, and he charged his energy to summon a gigantic Chaos Beam. But before he could fire, however, Hyper Knuckles quickly recovered and punched Enerjak in the chest, causing him to gasp for air. He unleashed a massive combo on Enerjak, eventually kicking him back.

Hyper Knuckles then flew towards Enerjak, whose attack he anticipates, but when Enerjak strikes, Hyper Knuckles suddenly disappears. Realizing that Hyper Knuckles was behind him, Enerjak prepares another punch, but is interrupted by Hyper Knuckles punching him to the chest. He punched Enerjak a few times into the air with much force, and punched him downward, with Enerjak crashing back-first into the top of a small mountain. Hyper Knuckles then zoomed towards the mountain and slammed Enerjak with a powerful fist, blowing half of the mountain up.

Afterwards, Enerjak stood up from the rubble unscathed, his mask broken into pieces and revealing his true face as a result of too many blows. It was the face of Knuckles' Regime counterpart, five years older than him.

Hyper Knuckles floated down and crossed him arms proudly, "There! Now you look more like me? Do you feel more like me?"

Enerjak growled, "If I can't destroy you, I'll simply send you away!" With a wave of his glowing hand, Hyper Knuckles dissipated into a mass of green bubbles. Of course, Hyper Knuckles was transported deep underground. Just then, he re-emerged from the earth and hit Enerjak square in the jaw.

"Thunder Arrow!" Enerjak summoned a wave of Chaos lightning from his hands, but it proves to be ineffective against Knuckles' hyper-coated body. In response, Hyper Knuckles punched Enerjak into the air. Afterwards, Hyper Knuckles and Enerjak are clashing at super-fast speeds across the entire desert. Hyper Knuckles' final strike knocked Enerjak back and then he proceeds to leap forward using two small mountains, knocking Enerjak towards the ground. The two then zip across the mountains, trying to catch each other, until Enerjak sneaks up on Hyper Knuckles, hitting him with a giant boulder.

With a scream, Hyper Knuckles bursts with a surge of Chaos Energy, destroying the boulder. He fired a flurry of Chaos Fireballs at Enerjak, who destroyed them all by using his Chaos Beams. Both fly past each other as Enerjak used another Chaos Beam, managing to hit Hyper Knuckles' back. Enerjak held his hands together to fire a gigantic Chaos Beam that hits Hyper Knuckles, knocking him into the air. Hyper Knuckles countered by spinning himself around, holding up his spiked fists, and firing himself at Enerjak's chest like a torpedo. The attack pierced Enerjak, sending him flying to an opposite mountain.

Enerjak stood up weakly, shouting, "Is that all you…"

He was suddenly struck by a mega-charged Chaos Fist that hits Enerjak to the jaw, which forced him to crash through multiple mountains, screaming, until he collapsed to the ground.

"…got?" Enerjak finished his sentence with a groan.

Hyper Knuckles stated, "The game's not as fun when you're losing, is it?"

Enerjak stood up weakly again, more agitated than ever, "Game? You think this is a GAME?!" He narrowed his eyes, "I haven't even begun to _play…_ "

The Chaos demigod flew into the air and channeled a tremendous amount of Chaos Energy to summon a giant Chaos Orb. Nonchalantly, Hyper Knuckles flew towards where Enerjak floated and punched him to the jaw with an uppercut, halting his channeling.

"You're so predictable," Hyper Knuckles rolled his eyes with a smile. He then delivered another flurry of punches, and finished by grabbing Enerjak's legs. He spins, repeatedly knocking the Chaos demigod into the ground, before throwing him, destroying an entire large rock formation. Enerjak recovered and flew at Hyper Knuckles on the offensive, with Hyper Knuckles blocking a flurry of punches.

When Hyper Knuckles dropped his guard, Enerjak knocked him back and stroke him a few times, knocking him into the air, finishing by knocking Hyper Knuckles to the ground, creating a crater. Hyper Knuckles sees Enerjak about to fly towards him.

"Chaos… BLAST!" Hyper Knuckles is attempting another technique…

The wasteland was illuminated by a bright light, but Enerjak is unfazed, holding Hyper Knuckles by the throat.

" _My turn…_ " Enerjak's eyes glowed green, and he created a huge surge of Chaos Energy, intent on ending the fight right there. When the surge erupted with a flash of green light, a strange deformity begins occurring around Enerjak.

The deformity concluded with Hyper Knuckles appearing unscathed from Enerjak's desperation attack, as lightning strikes from the clouds in the distance.

Enerjak roared in frustration, "How many times do I have to kill that stupid duplicate of me?!"

Hyper Knuckles crossed his arms and said sternly, "It's over, Knuckles. This fight is getting pointless, so do yourself a favor and give up."

Enerjak yelled, "Never! I'll never surrender to an imposter like you! And don't you _dare_ call me by that name. It no longer has any meaning to me."

Hyper Knuckles retorted, "You stain the honor of the Guardians with your rule and violation of heritage. We are to temper this planet's aggression, not enable it."

"This wasn't optional," Enerjak shook his head. "After New Mobotropolis, Sonic showed me the truth; this planet's aggression cannot be tempered, only quelled."

"By slaughtering the innocent?" Hyper Knuckles asked appealed. "Just like when the old me was tricked by Eggman into thinking Sonic stole the Master Emerald, your Sonic plays you like a fool."

Enerjak spat, "Your world's Echidnas must be weak-willed if YOU were their leader!"

With that, Enerjak threw a Chaos-powered fist at Hyper Knuckles, who caught the fist and countered with a knock to the chin.

"The Guardians' duty is to PROTECT Mobius," Hyper Knuckles declared.

Enerjak tried swinging his other fist around, only for Hyper Knuckles to dodge and punch back. However, Enerjak managed to block, but that didn't stop Hyper Knuckles from putting every ounce of power into pushing back.

"We are to give service! Help the innocent!" Hyper Knuckles continued.

Enerjak pushed him away and tried firing blasts at him, but Hyper Knuckles simply punched away the incoming energy blasts and grabbed his counterpart by the wrists.

"Save the lives of both friend AND foe!" Hyper Knuckles concluded. "THAT is the way of the Guardians, and the way our ancestors' legacy should be upheld!"

"You would lecture me?!" Enerjak screamed. "On what it means to be a Guardian?!"

"I don't seek to lecture," Hyper Knuckles explained, pushing his duplicate away. "I seek to depose!"

Both floated upward, and finally flew towards each other. The two clashed at unprecedented speeds before Hyper Knuckles does a double fist, knocking Enerjak down. Enerjak attempted to fire multiple Chaos Beams and Thunder Arrows, but Hyper Knuckles dodged every single attack or is unfazed. The pink-coated echidna broke through and delivered a thousand-punch technique, the last blow firing a massive Chaos Fireball that decimated Enerjak and nearly tore apart his clothing.

It was then that Enerjak realized he reached his limits. Once again, he drained tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy during the battle, leaving him famished.

Enerjak panted exhaustively, "I don't have much left in me. I must return to the Master Emerald for more…"

Enerjak flew off, intending to reach Angel Island to replenish his Chaos Energy.

"Oh no, you don't!" Hyper Knuckles shouted, and he chased after his retreating Regime counterpart.

Enerjak was about to reach Angel Island, but Hyper Knuckles stopped him with a punch to the face.

" _The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart._ "

Hyper Knuckles focused all of his energy into one technique.

" _The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos_."

His right hand glowed with an illuminating light.

" _Only you can do this! Master Emerald! Give me the power…_ "

Enerjak was shocked to the core.

" _…_ _to release Knuckles from this evil!_ "

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Enerjak screamed at the top of his lungs as Knuckles' glowing hand pierced his chest…

…and the dark hex that engulfed the Master Emerald dissolved into light, restoring the gemstone to its green, beautifully shining state.

Reverting to his normal form, Knuckles lowered the unconscious body of Enerjak, now restored to a normal Knuckles.

"Now to rebuild what you've destroyed," Mainstream Knuckles said.

Despite the defeat of his counterpart, the Echidna warriors surround him at gunpoint, trying to protect Regime Knuckles.

"Hold, my brothers! Hold!" Mainstream Knuckles told them. "While I am not of this world, I am still pure Guardian. And thus, I am still worthy to talk to you! I tell you now, this path you're following is wrong!"

The Echidnas were confused, but they kept on listening.

Mainstream Knuckles pointed at his unconscious duplicate, "This Guardian has enabled one Mobian to inflict his rage on an entire planet. Let him be consumed by his darkest passions, rather than extricate him from despair. I ask you, what is to be gained from following his plans of genocide? Have we really come to revert to our primitive ways as wild animals like it was ages ago? Or do we still remember the teachings our ancestors taught us?"

The Echidnas stood down and looked at the ground, regretting their decision. Knuckles knew he was gaining their trust.

"My brothers!" he continued. "Let us return to the right side of history. Let us enter battle, not as Mobius's destroyers, but its protectors. We are Guardians. We are here to save Mobius. Let us honor our ancestors the way they would have wished to be honored!" He pumped a fist into the air, "Let us fight free once more!"

All of the Echidnas erupted into cheers and applause, heeding the words of the Mainstream version of Knuckles. Just then, a myriad of airships from the Rose Fleet descended from above, catching the attention of every Echidna on the island.

" _Hey, guys!_ " the voice of Amy Rose spoke through a loudspeaker. " _Anybody need a lift_?"

Unbeknownst to all, Regime Julie-Su silently observed the scene from the jungle, with a face of regret and tears flowing freely from her eyes.

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis…**

Meanwhile, things were not faring any better. Regime soldiers were flooding the streets of New Mobotropolis, firing at anything they saw. Tanks, planes, and other machines laid waste to every infrastructure before them.

From out of nowhere, Regime Sonic landed on the side of a nearby building and head-butted it, causing four buildings to collapse like dominos. He floated above and held his hand out, palm facing another group of buildings. A yellow ball of Chaos Energy appeared, and was sent hurling towards the district. Upon impact, every building and living creature within the area was vaporized in a blinding light. Regime Sonic simply looked on, the grin never wavering.

 **Station Square…**

At Station Square, Ixis Naugus was overlooking the carnage happening. A combined force of Insurgents, Mainstream heroes, and Regime defectors were holding their ground against the Regime soldiers, though it was not clear who would win and who would lose.

Bunnie, Tails, and Fiona jumped out of a nearby hole from the ground, and Tails activated his mini-shield, blocking every blast from Regime Bunnie's arm cannon. In the distance, Rouge the Bat was dragging Bean into the sky with her wings, Bark and Monkey Khan were holding off Sergeant Simian and Predator Hawk, and Flying Frog and Lightning Lynx tried to run away, only to be shot down by Epsio and Fang. The two grinned at each other, only to hear something from behind. They saw Naugus standing behind them, laughing with maniacal glee.

"Crud," Fang sweated nervously.

 **De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters**

While the battle rages on, Mainstream Shadow was watching it from one of the monitors in G.U.N.'s secret cave laboratory, while his double was busy working on the inter-dimensional transporter. The two had snuck away to G.U.N. Headquarters during the fight with the Regime forces inside the Insurgency base. Right now, everyone was busy, but both Shadows knew it was only a matter of time.

Mainstream Shadow pointed out, "It's getting worse by the minute. At this rate, they'll never make it. We have to—"

"Once I'm finished repairing this thing, you're all going home," his duplicate interrupted.

Mainstream Shadow wasn't amused with his answer. He did not like his duplicate's way of thinking. Not one bit. Sighing, he went over to his counterpart to address the issue.

"You know, I get it," Mainstream Shadow nodded. "I do. Like you, I've tried to prepare for the day when one of our allies might be on the opposite side of our beliefs. But without help, you'll die. And the Insurgency will die with you."

Insurgency Shadow stood silent. He rose and looked at his Mainstream counterpart in the eye.

"Then maybe that's my fate," Insurgency Shadow replied.

"We don't believe in fate," Mainstream Shadow denied. "We believe in where we fight to the end and never give up."

With that, he went over the controls to the dimensional transporter. However, Insurgency Shadow pushed him away and punched him in the face. Mainstream Shadow responded with his own punch to his Insurgency counterpart's face. Insurgency Shadow kicked Mainstream Shadow away, gave two socks, and attempted another kick, but Mainstream Shadow grabbed the foot and flipped him into the air. Insurgency Shadow tried a roundhouse kick at his duplicate's head, but Mainstream Shadow dodged, yet unable to avoid a kick to the chest. However, he did manage to punch his duplicate back and leap over him. Mainstream Shadow then elbowed his duplicate from behind and kicked him back.

Though both didn't notice, the duplicates' feud was secretly observed by Insurgency Snively and his half-sister Hope Kintobor.

After a couple of rounds and some moves, both Shadows readied themselves.

Mainstream Shadow convinced, "Just send in reinforcements from our world! You can't win this fight alone!"

"No! This is my world!" Insurgency Shadow shouted to his Mainstream counterpart. "My fight!"

"You made it our fight when you brought us here," Mainstream Shadow pointed out.

 **STAGE: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG VS. SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY)**

Mainstream Shadow started with a kick to his counterpart, but was easily blocked. He countered with a hard uppercut, knocking Insurgency Shadow on his back. Insurgency Shadow tried to Spin Dash, but Mainstream Shadow leaped over him. Insurgency Shadow countered with a Chaos Spear that knocked Shadow to the ground. Mainstream Shadow threw a flying kick, knocking down his duplicate, followed by two Homing Attacks. His Insurgency counterpart knocked him back, but Shadow delivered another kick, the next kick sending Insurgency Shadow crashing to a nearby computer. Regime Shadow punched him with a Chaos Fist, but Mainstream Shadow threw a Chaos Fist of his own.

Mainstream Shadow then threw a series of punches and kicks at his Insurgency duplicate, followed by a back-flip kick that sent him into the air. Shadow performed a Homing Attack, followed by a aerial combo, but Insurgency Shadow countered with Chaos Control and knocked his Mainstream counterpart with a Homing Attack and aerial combo of his own. Mainstream Shadow delivered another series of kicks and punches before Insurgency Shadow blocked one blow and pushed him back.

"You're good," Insurgency Shadow stated.

"You expected otherwise," Mainstream Shadow replied.

The two Shadows charged at each other and struck with their Chaos Fists. Mainstream Shadow punched first, sending him back. Mainstream Shadow delivered a series of quick punches and Chaos attacks until finally, his Insurgency counterpart went down on his knees.

"If we're done here… we're wasting time," Mainstream Shadow said.

"This is a mistake," Insurgency Shadow argued.

"You brought us here because you had faith," Mainstream Shadow said calmly. "Faith that we'd uphold the values you've given everything to defend."

"He's right…" Hope's voice echoed and she and Snively emerged out of hiding.

"Hope? Colin?" Insurgency Shadow asked. "What are you doing here?"

Hope continued, "We can't just stand here and do nothing about this. These people from their world are our friends. And a friend never leaves a friend behind." Tears slowly streamed from Hope's eyes, "So please, Shadow. Let them stay. And let them help us. I'm sick and tired of Sonic hurting these people out there."

Snively agreed, "She's right, you know." He held his hand with Hope's, "Their world's Shadow should've been the moral code that drives us Insurgents. They have confidence in us as much as you have, Shadow. So I say, let them stay and fight. If we work together, we can defeat the One-Planet Regime. Give the people of Mobius something to fight for. And we will make the whole world as peaceful as it should be! That is something Dr. Finitevus had wished for!"

Hope tearfully nodded in agreement as she gently leaned on Snively's shoulder, him doing the same. He continued, "By the order of law, authority should be derived from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force." He scratched his head in confusion, "Does that make sense?"

Shadow added, "Colin was right, and so was Hope. Even if they are living in a different world, their beliefs remain strong to the end. And if anyone can stand up for what they believe in, we can." He turned to Insurgency Shadow and extended a hand, "So trust us. Trust yourself. Trust in others... just as I have learned to trust long ago. And let's end this."

Insurgency Shadow sighed. He thought about all the pain and suffering Sonic the Hedgehog had done over the past five years. But for once, he knew his duplicate was right. He couldn't die unless he had tried every possible option, and this counted as one of them.

Taking his Mainstream counterpart's hand, Insurgency Shadow rose up from the floor and looked at the inter-dimensional transporter.

"You have no idea how to use that thing, do you?" he asked.

"I was hoping you wouldn't figure that out," Mainstream Shadow admitted with a smile.

Just when Insurgency Shadow was about to activate the transporter, electricity crackled over the machine.

"Blast!" Insurgency Shadow cursed.

"What's going on?" Mainstream Shadow asked.

"The dimensional transporter was all out of Chaos Energy," Insurgency Shadow explained. "Unless we restore it to full capacity, we'll never transport anyone from your world into ours."

"Can't you use your Chaos Energy to restore power to the machine?"

"Doing that alone is insufficient. It's too much Chaos Energy for me to transfer, even with you helping me. If only Dr. Finitevus was alive, or if we have the Chaos Emeralds…"

Hope gasped upon hearing those words, "Wait, what did you say?"

Insurgency Shadow repeated, "I said if only we have the Chaos Emeralds, we would restore full power to the dimensional transporter."

Both Hope and Snively nodded to each other. Snively took out a small briefcase behind him, and when he opened it, a bright flash of pure, illuminating light emerged.

Both Shadows couldn't believe their eyes. Could it be…?

 **A few minutes later, after fixing the dimensional transporter…**

"Will it work?" Mainstream Shadow asked his Insurgency double.

"It's worth a try," Insurgency Shadow shrugged.

The two Shadows worked on the controls and suddenly, a blue light appeared from the transporter. It shot forward to slowly form into the outline of a solid figure. As the figure began to come into focus, large quills could be seen pointing downward in the back of its head. It was the symbol of a hedgehog.

Sonic the Hedgehog, the pure good version untouched by this world's Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, had arrived.

And he was ready to help clean up the mess the One-Planet Regime made.


	14. The Fastest Thing Alive

**De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters**

Sonic the Hedgehog of Mobius Prime stood next to his world's Shadow the Hedgehog, surveying the carnage and destruction taking place on this Mobius. Any other day, Sonic would crack a joke right now, but the situation was worse than he could imagine. Apparently, he was on a parallel world where he lost Sally Acorn and became a mad tyrant. This couldn't stand and Sonic was the only one who could stop his evil duplicate.

Of course, Sonic isn't the only one transported to this alternate Mobius. At the Freedom Fighters' insistence, Mobius Prime's versions of Sally Acorn, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Antoine D'Coolette joined the battle. If what the Insurgency said was true that Regime Sonic will be after their world next, the Freedom Fighters couldn't sit there and do nothing while this crisis is still going on. One short and sweet explanation from Insurgency Shadow, Snively, and Hope is all they needed.

Alongside Sally and Tails, Sonic and Shadow observed the chaos happening in Station Square and New Mobotropolis through multiple lab monitors.

"Whoa. I should've seen this coming," Sonic examined. "It's like a reprisal of the Great War with Doc Robotnik."

Sally nodded, "It only makes sense: this One-Planet Regime will raise New Mobotropolis and Station Square to the ground. Once they're finished, they'll attack our world next. We need all the help we can get right here."

"So when do we get started, guys?" Sonic asked his friends. "Those people are fish in a barrel down there."

Tails agreed, "Yeah. We've got to do something, and fast."

"First, we'll have to take care of the ground military forces attacking the cities," Shadow suggested.

Sonic smirked, clasping his left hand with a fist, "Sweet! That way, I'll focus on evil me when the coast is clear."

"Let's not be too hasty, Sonic," Sally eased. "Out-waiting the enemy would be risky for our teammates to handle alone. We'll do it together instead. It'll prevent more casualties that way. Then, you can focus on their Sonic." She rubbed her chin in deep thought, "Perfect Chaos is going to be the trickiest one, though."

"Collateral damage," Shadow noted. "But we can always bring in the _big guns._ "

Sonic smiled again, "I get what you mean, Shadow. I've just have to take my dance with the big puddle of drop elsewhere before I use the _big guns._ " He turned to Tails, "Yo, Tails! We'd better get to Station Square and smack some of Not-So-Much Scourge's flunkeys."

Tails cheerfully flew up with his two tails and raised his thumb up, "On it!"

Sonic's excitement wore down as he turned to face this world's Shadow. All the while, he had been pacing back and forth in deep thought.

"So, got anything else besides telling us the situation, Not-Our-Shadow?" Sonic asked.

Insurgency Shadow stopped his thoughts. He just looked at him before walking up to Sonic.

"I know this isn't entirely accurate…" Insurgency Shadow said. "But it's good to have you back, Sonic."

Sonic nodded at Insurgency Shadow, whose lips formed a smile for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"C'mon, Tails!" Sonic turned to his two-tailed sidekick. "We need to get to Station Square and help those Insurgents and our Freedom Fighter friends…"

"…before anything worse happens!" Tails added.

"Be careful, guys!" Sally instructed. "And good luck!"

Sonic and Tails gave a salute to the Freedom Fighter leader before zooming off, leaving Sally and Shadow to themselves.

"Shadow?" Sally asked.

"Yes, Sally?" Shadow asked.

Sally chuckled sheepishly before she continued, "Um, uh… Between the two of us… Are you sure in this world, we're married? And we have kids?" Her cheeks blushed red as she rubbed her head in the back. It reminded her of the time when Sonic and Sally were once a couple and broke up following Sonic's homecoming celebration, but a lot can change over time as their old romance was rekindling anew.

But a date would have to wait. Right now, there is a lot of work to be done.

* * *

 **Station Square  
Speed Highway Streets**

The people of Station Square screamed as the form of Drago Wolf ran across the street, slashing everything in sight with his nearly indestructible claws.

"Hey, Wolf-man!" A familiar voice echoed, slamming a Homing Attack into Drago's chest. "Your claws seriously need a manicure! Yeah, I said it before in our world, but I bet in this world, you haven't heard than one-liner before!"

"Sonic!" Drago growled, seeing what had to be the duplicates' version of Sonic. "I see in your world, you're still the same hog with a poor taste of humor."

"What's wrong with my humor?" Sonic asked. "All the kids seem to love it. And the ones who don't are probably stray cats who have less than nine lives than you do!"

"Shut up!" Drago yelled, slashing with his claws multiple times, but Sonic dodged every attack with his speed and sliced Drago's claws into pieces with his Spin Attack.

"Yo, Drago!" Sonic joked. "Guess what you're in? It's S.S.S.S.S.S.S., Sonic's Spinning Slashy Salon in Station Square for Suckers like you!"

"I'LL KILL YOU, SONIC!" Drago roared in frustration.

"Seesh!" Sonic shrugged. "If you don't want to cut your nails, I'll just give you a fine treatment of Spin Dash Sunday Supreme!"

On cue, Sonic landed a powerful Spin Dash that incapacitated Drago and left him unconscious. The Insurgents would later arrive and find a note attached to a tied-up Drago that read, "I hope giving his nails a manicure doesn't make him too limiting. Courtesy of Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

 **Twinkle Park**

The Sand Blasters were tearing up the amusement park of Twinkle Park and loving every second of it. The team leader, Jack Rabbit, noticed a mother holding tightly her 7-year old boy, trying to protect him from the chaos. Grinning, Jack prepared to roast them with a laser blaster…

…and then a Homing Attack split the weapon in two.

"What the heck?!" Jack exclaimed.

"What's up, Jack!" Sonic quipped, landing his feet on the ground. "How's life in Sand Blast City?"

"It's that down-and-dirty traitor, Sonic!" Avery the Bear shouted, throwing a crate towards Sonic who dodged it. "Get him!"

Shift E. Wolf threw a chain on him, but Sonic hopped over it. Jolt the Roadrunner and Tex the Lizard fired their laser blasters, only for Tails to deflect them all with his mini-shield.

"Get your kid outta here, ma'am!" Tails told the woman. She didn't need to be told twice and left instantly.

Shift tried to attack Sonic with his chain, but Sonic destroyed it with a Spin Attack, and he performed a Homing Attack, hitting Shift in the chest and knocking him out. Jack, Jolt, Tex, and Avery glared at the blue hedgehog.

"You are so freaking dead, road-hog," Jack growled.

"Wow, bunny rabbit," Sonic noted. "With you and your boys' labored breaths, you could be a stand in for Cactus Jack. Still, you don't have any spines so we'd either have to stick your body with needles, or dress you up in cosplay…"

"SHUT UP!" Jack screamed, as he ordered the Sand Blasters to fire at Sonic. However, in lightning speed, Sonic dodged and took out all of the Sand Blasters at once with multiple Homing Attacks.

Tails flew to Sonic and cheerfully gave him a hi-five, "Aw, yeah! Nothing stops the good ol' Homing Attack!"

Sonic smiled back, "Guess we're done with the place with the 'Cute Couples Get in Free' rule. C'mon, little bro. We've got ourselves an ugly, hissing wizard that needs a trim with a beard."

Tails nodded, "Yeah!"

As soon as they left, Sonic left another note. This one read, "Here's power to the people and the reason why people in the desert can't have nice things, like the old Dingo Regime. Courtesy of Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

* * *

 **Soon, at the streets by the Colin Cash Bar…**

A few feet above the ground, the ex-Regime Tails was fighting Rouge in an aerial battle. Rouge punched the two-tailed fox and slammed him to the ground, where below, Fang, Bean, and Bark were dodging attacks from continuous blasts from Sergeant Simian's sonic boom cannon. Espio leaped onto a car and threw an exploding kunai, disorientating Sergeant Simian. Fiona readies her Chaos Whip, but Flying Frog took out a gun and shot her in the leg. Before Bunnie can provide assistance, she found her right arm frozen by Ixis Naugus's ice magic. While Khan joined in to fight Flying Frog, Naugus stepped forward and used telekinesis from his magical staff to lift six nearby cars. Khan was taken off-guard as the cars were about to hit, until a blue ball destroyed the cars all at once.

Everyone turned to see the non-Regime Sonic arriving, much to their complete joy.

"Yo!" Sonic greeted his friends with a salute.

"Sonic!" Mainstream Bunnie cried. "Took ya long enough to get ya to Oz, partner!"

Sonic shrugged jokingly, "And here, I have a feeling we're not in our own Mobius anymore…"

Espio smiled confidently, "It appears this world's Shadow finally agreed to bring Sonic to the fight."

Khan agreed, "With him on our side, it will even up the battle."

"So, the Sonic from their world's on our side, huh?" Fiona asked with a smirk. "This'll be interesting."

Sonic smirked at Fiona, "Just like old times, huh?"

Fiona rolled her eyes with a grin, "In your dreams."

Meanwhile, Regime Tails shed tears upon staring at Mainstream Sonic's face. He thought to himself, " _That's the Sonic I used to know. My best friend. My big brother. I wanted him in our world to be the same big brother I love… It's good to have him back._ " Regime Tails only smiled and bid Mainstream Sonic hello in silence.

"Alright!" Sonic cheered. "It's Freedom Fighters and Insurgency for one. You go ahead and deal with the others. I've got Naugus. C'mon, F.F.'s and I.G.'s… We can take 'em!"

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted with approval as they charge at the enemy forces, leaving Sonic to deal with Naugus alone.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Naugus declared. "In your world, you are still the stubborn, foolish hypocrite hero I know, before he won my admiration."

Sonic asked, "Working with Sonic makes you feel better? You sure are fighting awfully for him."

Naugus elaborated, "He admires my dedication to my ideals— the creation of a mass democracy and the spread of order and justice to the world. Our ideals are equal. The High Councilor offered to create for me a utopia where I will gloriously rule, where I will take my rightful place as king of the Republic of Acorn!"

"You still think you're the king of everything, Naugus?" Sonic scoffed. "If the Zone of Silence exists here, I suggest you pack your things, get out, and go home!"

"You are the one that should be going home, speedster!" Naugus responded with a powerful magic blast that Sonic dodged. The hedgehog retaliated with a Spin Dash that knocked him back towards the other end of an alleyway.

Naugus's magical staff glowed and he summoned multiple crystal pillars at Sonic. However, Sonic managed to destroy every single one of them with his Spin Attacks, Spin Dash, and Homing Attacks. He occasionally landed a Homing Attack at Naugus's chest, damaging him whenever there was an opportunity.

"You are weak, speedster!" Naugus declared. "Your world suffers for it."

Naugus resort to casting different elemental spells, but Sonic evaded them all to make way for another Homing Attack to the chest.

"There is no place for you here!" Naugus retorted.

Soon after a lot of attempts, Naugus decided to speed in to hit Sonic. However, Sonic blocked the attack using his elbow and delivered a strong right hook to Naugus's face, sending him to the ground. The Ixis Wizard got back up, looking at the blue speedster fiercely.

"High Councilor Sonic modeled his government after mine as it was in the Golden Age of the Republic of Acorn," Naugus pointed out. "We allow no insurrection!"

 **STAGE 1: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG VS. IXIS NAUGUS (REGIME)**

Sonic struck first with three Homing Attacks to Naugus's face. The Ixis Wizard vanished in a fog of mist and appeared behind him, attempting to strike, but Sonic's speed helped him counter and give a hard Spin Dash to the chest. Naugus attempted to throw multiple elemental spells at Sonic, but his speed trumped all of them, and he landed another Spin Dash that stuck to Naugus's chest. Sonic pulled himself quickly and struck Naugus with both his feet.

Sonic rushed in and Spin Dashed Naugus upwards, and before he hits the ground, Sonic gave a hard Sonic Boost to Naugus's back, causing him to crash into a wall. Sonic gave him a downwards Homing Attack, sending Naugus to the ground.

Naugus responded by summoning two floating giants crystal hands, giving an unsuspecting Sonic double-fists to his elbows, sending him crashing to the ground. Normally, this would've hurt Sonic, but thankfully, he had taken a pill his evil duplicate created, which enhanced his strength, speed, and agility more than it had ever been. It hurts still, but Sonic wasn't going to let that stop him.

Naugus magic blasted him in the chest, and Sonic responded with another Spin Dash to the chest. Naugus magic blasted again, but Sonic countered with a Homing Attack in his sternum. Sonic then unleashed a series of punches and kicks faster than Naugus had ever seen. For the final blow, Sonic drops down and adopts a runner's stance, his body vibrating and charging with wind. With power up to 100%, he punched Naugus as if time stopped, runs around the city really fast, punched Naugus in the air, jumped up, and ended with one final punch to the face, sending Naugus back down.

Sonic looked over the Ixis Wizard who was trying to push himself up. He said with a smile, "This is the way evil ends, lizard-head. Not with a whimper, but with a bang."

Naugus attempted to punch him, but Sonic dodged and curled into a ball towards Naugus's magical staff, breaking it in half, much to his complete horror.

Sonic smirked, "How's that for being _wizard?_ "

Naugus gasped, "You fool! What have you done?!"

"What do you think I've done?" Sonic shrugged. "I just did you a favor and gave you a 'listen to force' notice to get on outta here!"

"You don't understand!" Naugus shrieked frantically, as he found his body beginning to wither. "My magical staff is the source of my powers! It is the only think that keeps me alive! Sonic planted a bomb infused with negative Chaos Energy when he threatened to destroy me. If I had refused to cooperate and follow him, my body would rot…! Disappear! Be dismantled!" His voice grew weaker, "The Ixis magic… pulsing within… my staff… is the only… thing… keeping me alive… Without… it… I… would… Diiiieeee…! **AAAGGGHHH!** "

Those were Ixis Naugus's last words, whose body exploded into black electricity and dissolved into nothing. What remained of Naugus was his clothes scattered on the floor.

"So Naugus wants to be the king of everything, but he was sentenced to a life of serving the evil me to do it," Sonic pouted with a sigh. "Sucks for him."

Sonic was about to leave when he heard a thunderous battle cry. He turned around to see Regime Bunnie raising her fists in the air before she collided with him in one large tackle. The impact opened the ground beneath them, and both fell inside. At that moment, everyone who was fighting looked to see what happened. They looked at the massive hole in the ground as sounds of punches could be heard echoing from within. However, it was too dark to see what was happening.

Suddenly, Regime Bunnie went sailing out from one of the manholes, sending her into the far right wall as Sonic jumped out from the ground hole.

"Why do I have the feeling that what I smelled down there is an omen for what Hydrocity Zone is going to be like in this world?" Sonic asked.

Regime Bunnie snarled through her gritting teeth, "Ah'm gonna crush yer bones into dust."

"Sorry," Sonic shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Bad Bunnie."

 **STAGE 2: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG VS. BUNNIE RABBOT (REGIME)**

Regime Bunnie zoomed in, but Sonic reacted quickly and punched her to the ground. Sonic gave another punch to the face, as she tried to punch back with her metal fists, but Sonic jumped over and hit her with two Homing Attacks. The blue hedgehog gave an Upper Spin Dash to the chin, followed by Homing Attack that drove her body downward. Regime Bunnie gave Sonic an uppercut and punched him backwards to the far-side of the street. She went in to punch him again, but Sonic sped past her and Spin Dashed a large neo-lit arrow that fell and smashed into Regime Bunnie's head.

Sonic then shot a Spin Dash at Regime Bunnie's chest, and pulled himself in, striking her with both of his feet. The blue speedster Upper Spin Dashed her body into the air again, added with a Homing Attack that sent her back to the ground. Sonic proceeded to punch and kick her repeatedly so many times that Regime Bunnie lost count of how many times she was hit. Eventually, Regime Bunnie managed to block one of the punches and pushed Sonic back.

"So does Antoine and you have robot-Mobian hybrid babies in this world?" Sonic quipped, readying himself.

"Ah'm gonna make ya bleed yer own teeth," Regime Bunnie scowled.

The two charged at each other. Regime Bunnie tried to punch him, but Sonic was quicker and kicked her in the chest, sending her backwards. Sonic gave her an onslaught of Spin Dashes and Homing Attacks until Regime Bunnie finally collapsed, defeated.

"That'll hold you long enough," Sonic said.

Suddenly, he screamed in pain when an EMP device stuck him to the chest and electrocute him, courtesy of a delightfully laughing Regime Rouge. This caused everyone to stop fighting and look at Regime Bunnie, who raised her metal fists and hammered Sonic, smashing him to the ground repeatedly, laughing amusingly together with Regime Rouge. As soon as the pummeling and the cruel laughter ceased, Rouge and Bunnie looked at the nearly-beaten Sonic, who barely had time to stand.

Rouge smirked, "Not the fastest thing alive, was he?" She took out a knife from her pocket and placed it near Sonic's neck, "See you later, fool!"

Before Rouge would deal the fatal blow, however, she was unexpectedly shot in the back by a laser rifle shot, courtesy of Fang the Sniper, accompanied by Bean and Bark.

Fang stated, "If anyone's a friend of the Insurgents, they're friends of mine."

"Why… you…" Rouge groaned in pain due to the laser shot that scorched the back of her body. She fell into the ground, unconscious.

"ROUGE!" Regime Bunnie screamed upon seeing her fallen ally. She turned to Sonic and his friends, berserk with rage, "AH'LL KILL YOU!"

"That's enough!" a voice with a thick French accent called. A voice both Bunnies recognized.

"Antoine!" the two Bunnie exclaimed.

Indeed, the figure of Antoine D'Coolette, Bunnie's husband, appeared with sword in hand.

Bunnie smiled upon seeing her husband again, "Well, the more the merrier. Mah sweetheart has come."

Antoine smiled back, "A pleasure to be with you on the side of battle once again, my love." He kissed Bunnie on the hand, making her blush and giggle. "None could ever replace you, especially those who would pose as you." He directed his sword in front of Regime Bunnie, "The thought of seeing someone who looks but acts differently! It disgusts me!"

Sonic quipped, "It's like Moebius with same people and different attitude."

Regime Bunnie was almost breaking down when she tried to speak, "Antoine… Ah…"

"If you think you would bring me to this world to make me love you, you are sorely mistaken," Antoine noted. "My heart is already filled with love. And my love remains with the woman I love with all my life, in my OWN world. And her name is Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette."

Bunnie smirked and tugged Antoine into her arms, "Pucker up, candy lips."

The two kissed each other on the lips as Sonic and his friends smiled. Regime Bunnie, on the other hand, was hurt emotionally. She knelt down on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She remembered when things had been different, before New Mobotropolis, before Antoine's death, before the One-Planet Regime. She remembered how Bunnie and Antoine started out as friends, then lovers, and eventually a wed couple before Knothole was set ablaze by the Egg Fleet. Their love was unbreakable, until Antoine's death did them part. Bunnie's sobbing was the only thing that shattered her nearly unbreakable cold exterior. Her emotions won her over.

Antoine was gone. Everything Bunnie had loved in this world was gone.

And now she was all alone.

Still sobbing, Regime Bunnie looked at her Mainstream counterpart after she stopped kissing Antoine.

"Here's yer chance to set things right, Bunnie," Mainstream Bunnie said. "If Ah were you, Ah would take it." Her friends and husband nodded in agreement.

Regime Bunnie already made her decision. There was no point in fighting back anymore. This was the point of no return.

She surrendered.

 **A few minutes later…**

"All threats to Station Square have been neutralized," Espio reported.

Sonic added, "Now that leaves us with…"

" _Sonic!_ " Mainstream Tails called via Sonic's earpiece. " _You'd better get to New Mobotropolis right away! This world's Monkey Khan is leading a huge army of ninjas, and they're causing trouble down there!_ "

"On it!" Sonic complied.

"I'll take you there!" Mainstream Khan offered, summoning a nimbus cloud with the snap of his fingers.

"Wait! What about me?!" Rouge screamed, tied up to a nearby lamppost after the previous battle.

"Go help yourself out," Fiona sarcastically grinned. "Besides, don't try that whole 'jewels are the only thing for me' thing. There's more to life than just eyeing on jewels, you know?"

Rouge protested, "But I love jewels! Jewels are my life!"

Antoine pointed out, "Money is the root of all evil!"

Bean cracked, "Maybe a day or two in the funhouse ought to chill ya out."

Fang snickered, "Don't worry, sweetie. We're not gonna hurt ya. You're safe with us. Until then, you're not goin' anywhere."

This caused Rouge to gulp nervously.

Mainstream Bunnie turned to Sonic, "Sonic, you go ahead and kick Khan's evil butt. We'll stay here and clean up the city."

Sonic nodded, "Yep. He's gonna have a Spin Dash with his name on it." He jumped on top of the nimbus cloud, "Ready to roll?"

Khan grinned back, "You don't have to tell me twice, speedster." He summoned his own nimbus cloud and stood on top of it, "Let's go!"

Sonic and Khan sped upward with their nimbus clouds, leaving the others behind.

"Hey, batty-watty!" Bean quipped to Rouge, juggling his already lit bombs. "Wanna see me do a magic trick?"

"Noooooooo!" Rouge said horrified. "Somebody heeeeellllppp!"

* * *

 **New Mobotropolis  
Downtown**

A group of human Insurgents spirited away from a gigantic tidal wave almost as big as the buildings they were running past.

" _Open Your Heart_ , Jun Senoue!" a soldier with glasses and short black hair shouted. "What in the name of _Sonic Heroes_ could control the very forces of nature like that?"

"Have no idea, Johnny!" another soldier with long colored hair spoke in a Japanese accent. "All I know is that we'd better survive this because we're just two days from concert schedule!"

Behind the giant tidal wave, Regime Monkey Khan was leading a battalion of Yagyu, Raiju, Gossamer, and Shinobi as the Dragon Kingdom's magicians were using their powers over the elements to create the tidal wave as a defensive barrier. Just then, the wave froze solid, making the marching Four Clans stop in confusion.

They saw Miles "Tails" Power using a freeze-ray from his Buster Arm Cannon, turning the tidal wave into a huge block of ice. Sonic smashed through the ice with a Spin Dash, shattering it to millions of tiny pieces and allowing him to face Regime Khan and his forces head on.

"Are you ready, Sonic the Hedgehog?" Regime Khan asked, readying his thunder staff. "To take on the might of the Dragon Kingdom?!"

"Yes," Sonic smirked, looking at the sky above them. "WE are."

Regime Khan was confused at first, but when he turned his attention to the sky, he gasped. Hundreds of Rose Fleet airships popped out of the clouds, all turrets targeted towards the Dragon Kingdom armies.

At the main deck of the flagship, Amy Rose stood next to her new Egg Pawn friends and smiled. She took the microphone and declared with a loud and strong voice through the loudspeaker:

"FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND INSURGENCY FOREVER!"

The Egg Pawns raised their fists and shouted the same message.

"FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND INSURGENCY FOREVER!"

With that, the Rose Fleet airships fired all weapons. Regime Monkey Khan brought his staff down to the ground, taking all of the intense firepower's force with a field of electrical energy. But his Dragon Kingdom battalion wasn't so lucky. Thousands upon thousands throughout the city were blown to pieces, while a few remaining raised their shields to defend themselves.

"For the Echidnas! For the Brotherhood of Guardians!" another voice called.

Sonic smirked again to see his world's Knuckles leading an army of Echidnas with a noble battle cry. They engaged the remnants of the Dragon Kingdom's army in combat, while a few Egg Pawns came down from the Rose Fleet ships to assist them. That left Sonic to deal with this world's Monkey Khan.

Regime Khan tried to swing at him with his electric-induced thunder staff, but Sonic simply dodged at breakneck speed, and then Regime Khan kicked his exposed chest.

"You're not wanted here!" Regime Khan declared.

 **STAGE 3: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG VS. MONKEY KHAN (REGIME)**

Khan tried to hit Sonic, but the blue hedgehog countered with a Homing Attack. He Spin Dashed Khan upwards and performed Homing Attack to the chest. Khan retaliates with a fully charged thunder strike to Sonic's chest, but Sonic's durability enhancement prevented the wound from being fatal. Sonic countered with five Homing Attacks, followed by a Spin Dash that sent him to a car which exploded. Sonic did a Bouncing Dash, sending Khan into the air once more before Homing Attacking him back down to the ground.

Sonic gave Khan two punches to the face, leaped up, and then a Homing Attack to the chest, followed by a pullback with both his feet. Sonic went in to take him down, but Khan simply smacked his head down. Khan was about to counter, but Sonic knocked him back with a Spin Dash to the chest, followed by two Homing Attacks and a Sonic Boost at fast speed. Khan slammed his thunder staff again, but Sonic kicked him back to the far other side of the street. Sonic gave two more Homing Attacks, and then another Spin Dash. Finally, Sonic unleashed a series of speedy combos before Khan hits the ground, defeated and unconscious.

"I may not be wanted," Sonic explained. "But I'm clearly needed." With that, he sped off.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, at Station Square…**

While Mainstream Bunnie and her teammates were busy flushing out the remnants of the One-Planet Regime throughout Station Square, Regime Rouge frantically made a communications link in her earpiece, desperate to call for reinforcements.

"This is Rouge to all Regime forces!" Rouge shrieked. "We need reinforcements!"

" _Commander Rouge!_ " a soldier reported. " _All of our reinforcements… they're all wiped out!_ "

" **WHAT?!** " Rouge exclaimed at the top of her lungs. " **HOW?!** "

" _The Rose Fleet has spread throughout Mobius and destroyed every military branch in the One-Earth Regime! Our airspace and marine forces have been breached! It's happening everywhere all over the planet! Downunda! Efrika! Eurish! The Northern and Southern Tundras! Soumerca! Yurashia! Northamer! They're rising everywhere! Even the citizens are fighting back! It's no good…! Break through eminent! Aaarrrgghh…!"_

The communications link was replaced with a distorted crackle. Rouge's eyes widened with horror. She finally understood what that meant.

The One-Planet Regime is losing... and tearing itself apart.

* * *

 **Back at New Mobotropolis…**

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles watched the remaining Dragon Kingdom fighters forced to retreat with Mainstream Khan, the Echidnas, and the Egg Pawns giving chase.

"I guess ninja school's out forever," Sonic quipped.

Tails agreed, "Ninjas are super-quick and all, but they sure don't have a chance in heck of escaping from an airship's firepower."

Knuckles chuckled and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "I should've saved some action for you, but you cool with fighting this world's Khan?"

Sonic assured, "No worries, Knux. Fighting Prince Free Hairball had to do."

" _Great news, Sonic!_ " Sally said through Sonic's earpiece. " _Amy's Rose Fleet broke their ranks and overthrew every military branch on Mobius. They're retreating._ "

"That means we're winning! Cool!" Sonic smiled. "Just one thing… Your best friend's other self almost turned me into hedge-paste. But she's taken care of with the rest."

" _Good to hear,_ " Sally's voice sighed. " _We'll have Amy break off a legion so we can start with rescue and recovery._ "

"Thanks, Sal," Sonic nodded. "You always make it look easy."

" _Let's get through this first, Sonic,_ " Sally's voice chuckled. " _Then you can tell me how easy it looked._ "

"Right. We're gonna—" Sonic began.

Before Sonic finished his sentence, he was hit by a large mass of water that sent him crashing through the windows of a building, much to Tails and Knuckles' surprise.

"SONIC!" Tails cried.

"Tails!" Knuckles assured with a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Don't worry! He'll be fine. Shadow gave Sonic the _big guns,_ remember?"

Tails rubbed his head and chuckled nervously, "Oh, right. I forgot." He felt reassured that Sonic will be alright.

 **Meanwhile…**

New Mobotropolis was literally flooded by a rain of chaos. The sewers erupted through the city's manholes, the road cracked open from water pressure, and the streets were submerged into waves under 1,000 feet. Rising out of the endless water was a lizard's head attached to a body created from a large section of water, and two tentacles on the left and right.

Perfect Chaos, the true and absolute final form with all seven Chaos Emeralds fed, roared ferociously amidst the nearly flooded city, and opened its serpentine eyes towards Sonic, who stood on a road miraculously standing above Chaos's deadly waves. Perfect Chaos's orders were clear: Destroy everything, including Sonic the Hedgehog, and be done with it.

" _This is it,_ " Sonic thought to himself. " _Time to bring out the big guns. It's all or nothing!_ "

Centering his energy, Sonic summoned seven colored bright lights circling around him. As the spinning lights reached their optimum speeds, Sonic lets out a skyward scream. The bright light poured into his body, a bright light expanding outwards and rocketing to the sky. Standing at its source, the energy swirling and crackling around him, Sonic stood with his blue fur replaced with a shining yellow. His eyes opened, emerald green turned into shades of rubies. Sonic was now transformed into Super Sonic!

"Time to scramble some Perfect Chaos one more time, SUPER SONIC STYLE!" Sonic's super form shouted with determination.

With that, in a flash of radiant light, Super Sonic dashed into the head of Perfect Chaos, their collision creating an immense shockwave that spread throughout the city…

 **At Insurgency HQ…**

"So how did you get all seven Chaos Emeralds?" Sally asked Insurgency Shadow.

Insurgency Shadow explained, "Dr. Finitevus stole the Chaos Emeralds from the secret vault at the Hall of Justice. But the problem is, all of their energy was absorbed to feed Perfect Chaos. Fortunately for us, Dr. Finitevus channeled the Master Emerald's energy to restore the Emeralds to full power. I wasn't aware of this until Hope and Colin told me. Finitevus entrusted the Chaos Emeralds to them before he died."

"Why would Finitevus restore the Emeralds?" Sally asked again.

"I don't know," Insurgency Shadow shrugged. "Perhaps he wanted to make one final trump card to turn the tide of war in our favor. And I never had to guess."

Sally smiled confidently, "I wouldn't have to, either." It was assuring to know that the Chaos Emeralds would turn the tide— and fulfill Fintevus's dying wish.

* * *

As soon as the surge of light throughout the city dissipated, the waters below receded and dissolved into small puddles. Super Sonic dragged Chaos— now reverted to his Chaos Zero form— above New Mobotropolis whilst the liquefied monster tried to beat him up with his watery fists. Super Sonic's a wonder; he's more than enough to neutralize all of Perfect Chaos's powers and change him back to his original form.

Chaos Zero screeched as he collapsed into the ground of a huge crater nearby, made as a result of a city district destroyed by High Councilor Sonic. Super Sonic transformed back to his normal form and landed safely on the ground. The blue speedster confronted Chaos Zero, who weakly stood up and stared at Sonic with cold eyes.

Chaos Zero screeched in a distorted, watery tone, " _I live to kill you._ "

Sonic shot back, "Then you'll live disappointed."

 **STAGE 4: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG VS. CHAOS ZERO (REGIME)**

Sonic performed three Homing Attacks on Chaos Zero, damaging his watery body, whilst dodging a few watery fists many times. Chaos Zero morphed into puddle form, reappeared, and attempted to trample over Sonic, but the blue speedster leaped up and Spin Attacked his back. The Spin Attack was strong enough to split Chaos Zero's body in half, but he quickly regenerated, considering his body was made of water. Chaos Zero attempted another flurry of watery fists, but Sonic dodged them all and continued his onslaught of Homing Attacks. The liquefied monster tried to get back, but with all the exhaustion from his scuffle with Super Sonic and all of his energy drained, Chaos Zero collapsed into the ground. Sonic stood over the liquefied creature with an idea of what he could do to take care of him.

"I think we've had enough Chaos for one day," Sonic said. Summoning the Chaos Emeralds, he channeled their power to transform into Super Sonic again. He grabbed Chaos Zero's body, flew him towards Angel Island in a mere five seconds, and tossed him into the Master Emerald, where his liquefied body was absorbed into the large green gemstone, sealing him away from the world once more.

In another mere five seconds, Super Sonic returned to the crater in New Mobotropolis and turned back to normal. The blue hedgehog wiped his head of sweat, relived that the chaos had been averted.

He couldn't help but feel something was still off. A small meteor of yellow light appeared from the sky, and Sonic dodged it before it made impact. When the meteor crashed into the ground, out of the smoke appeared a physical figure. Something Sonic knows very well.

It was the Regime version of Sonic the Hedgehog, glaring with murderous intent.


	15. The Colossal Finale

**Author's Notes:  
** Just like the Hyper Knuckles vs. Enerjak chapter, I've made the final battle between Mainstream Sonic and Regime Sonic a separate, long, epic chapter. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Sonic gasped as his Regime counterpart walked in, having discarded his One-Planet uniform and his body exposed. Both Sonics' bodies are identical in size and color, but the difference is Regime Sonic's face five years older with a hit of laugh-lines, and no happy emotions. The face of Sonic's evil self scared him to the core; it was pure scowling, and Sonic had never seen anything like it. Even at times when a few close friends and family in his life had died, he never showed any amount of hatred as his duplicate was showing.

Mainstream Sonic, however, stood strong against his alternate self. Facing himself was something he hadn't done before, besides his Anti-Mobius counterpart Scourge, but he was ever determined to fight to the end, no matter what.

"Well, well," Mainstream Sonic spoke. "So the high and mighty king of all Mobius decided to greet himself?"

"I knew they'd pull you over eventually," Regime Sonic scowled, pointing his index finger at Mainstream Sonic. "You don't belong here."

"My obligations don't end within the borders of my crib dimension," Mainstream Sonic responded.

Regime Sonic declared, pointing a finger at himself, "I am this world's savior! I protect it!"

Mainstream Sonic was shocked. "That's what you call what's going on out there?!" he asked in complete amazement. "You call destroying public property and hurting your own citizens your way of protection?"

His alternate self gave the faintest resemblance of a smirk, one Sonic didn't like at all. It was the kind of smirk that villains like Dr. Eggman give whenever they were gloating about world domination. That's what his alternate self was doing.

"Disobedient children will be punished as they deserve," Regime Sonic answered.

"Children?" Mainstream Sonic questioned. "And that makes you 'big daddy' in a school playground? What did they ever do to you, man?"

Regime Sonic explained with a sickening smile, "The world is full of evil, Sonic. Why would I ever spend the rest of my life being the same hypocrite hero trying to promote a world not perfect to begin with? I always thought that there was good in everyone, but five years ago proved me wrong. All of the pain and suffering and deaths… it all adds up. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my planet! I've become its ruler! Its protector! Anyone who tried to resist me is evil in my point of view, even if they are 'citizens.' They don't value life. They're going to pay— pay with their lives for what they've done."

"Whoa, things are getting way out of proportion!" Mainstream Sonic exclaimed. "So you now think you're a god or something? Huh?" He tried to explain to his alternate self, "'Cause we're not. We're not gods. We don't decide who lives and who dies—"

"The decision IS mine!" Regime Sonic yelled, suddenly losing his temper and taking Mainstream Sonic off guard. "It became mine when Eggman turned me into a weapon of mass destruction!"

"Look, I feel for what you lost," Mainstream Sonic sympathized.

"And you judge me?!" Regime Sonic spat.

He circled the good Sonic, once again giving an evil smirk.

"Sally is still alive in your world, isn't she?" Regime Sonic asked. "After I've killed you, I'll bring her here. When she sees the way I've protected this world, she'll..."

"Be your queen?" Mainstream Sonic interrupted. "And together you and she will rule the world? Make things the way you want them to be?" He then scoffed, "Sally's not an idiot. She'll see you exactly who you are. Then again, she already saw you for how you—"

"IT WON'T MATTER!" Regime Sonic roared. "I'LL MAKE HER SEE THINGS MY WAY!"

"She'll be afraid and disgusted!"

"SHE'LL BE **ALIVE!** "

"Sally's death doesn't—"

"He **STOLE** her from me!"

"And you stole this planet's freedom!" Mainstream Sonic declared. "It's time to give it back."

 **FINAL STAGE 1: SONIC THE HEDEGHOG VS. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (REGIME)**

Mainstream Sonic started the fight with a Sonic Boost to his Regime self's chest. Regime Sonic leaped up and countered with a Homing Attack to the face. Mainstream Sonic recovered, but his Regime counterpart stomped him down repeatedly, charged with Chaos Energy. He was about to stomp again, but Mainstream Sonic leaped over him and Spin Attacked him in the back. Mainstream Sonic went over and did another Sonic Boost to the chest, sending him flying through a far corner within the crater.

The two continued their fight with a series of punches, kicks, Homing Attacks, Spin Attacks, and Spin Dashes that collided with each other. Then Regime Sonic blocked one of Mainstream Sonic's attacked and pushed him back.

"Sally will be mine again!" Regime Sonic declared, readying himself.

"You want her? You'll have to go through me!" Mainstream Sonic responded.

With that, the two clashed. Mainstream Sonic struck first with a Spin Dash, sending Regime Sonic back a bit. Regime Sonic recovered and performed a Sonic Boost to the chest charged with Chaos Energy, slamming him to another far end of the crater. Regime Sonic delivered a series of attacks faster than Mainstream Sonic could anticipate before punching him backwards.

Regime Sonic went in for the kill, but then noticed Mainstream Sonic in a crouching position. Before Regime Sonic could respond, Mainstream Sonic sped around and around, engulfing his body with Sonic Boost energy. With that, Sonic performed a continuous combo of Homing Attacks, Spin Dashes, and Spin Attacks faster than Regime Sonic anticipated, the last attack a Sonic Overdrive attack: a lightspeed combo of punches and kicks, and the last hit a fully charged shockwave of wind from Mainstream Sonic's fist.

Regime Sonic hits the ground hard as he collapsed on his feet. Mainstream Sonic looked over his counterpart.

"How'd you like that, Doctor Sonic-Man?" Sonic smirked at the Regime leader. "I always wanted to say that, 'cause you act just like Eggman."

Regime Sonic slowly stood up unfazed, cracking his bones throughout his body and returning them to their usual position. There was not a single scratch visible, and Mainstream Sonic's smirk turned to shock.

"That all you got?" Regime Sonic smirked back.

Mainstream Sonic growled and leapt unto his Regime counterpart. He shouted, "You want some more?!" He performed a Homing Attack, but Regime Sonic blocked it on spot and pushed him back with a burst of Chaos Energy from his body.

"Didn't anybody every told you?" Regime Sonic informed. "You have to think before you act!" He charged his Chaos Energy, "So get lost, you rotten…!" Regime Sonic summoned a large blast of Chaos Energy from his right arm. He fired his shot, but Mainstream Sonic jumped above and retaliated with a strong Spin Attack unto Regime Sonic's forehead. In response, Regime Sonic dashed to his Mainstream counterpart and kicked him in the jaw. As he fell back, Regime Sonic grabbed his duplicate's arm to keep him from falling.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Regime Sonic grinned as he repeatedly bashed his fist into Mainstream Sonic's face. With each punch, a spark of Chaos Energy was released. After multiple punches, Regime Sonic lit his fist with Chaos Energy. Mainstream Sonic responded by sweeping his feet, but Regime Sonic jumped into the air and stomped onto Mainstream Sonic's head with his Chaos-powered feet, crushing him to the ground. He then pulled up Mainstream Sonic and kicked him to his right. Mainstream Sonic regained himself as he skidded back, albeit sustaining a few injuries.

"My turn!" Mainstream Sonic readied himself. With all his might, he dealt a huge Sonic Boost to Regime Sonic's chest, sending him back.

"Don't you see what's happened to this planet, Sonic?" Regime Sonic asked coldly. "Because it's full of evil, fighting for freedom is nothing but a joke now!" He summoned a large ball of static Chaos electricity, its energy flailing around Mainstream Sonic wildly. "All I'm trying to do is make things right!" Mainstream Sonic struggled to avoid the larger blasts of thunder. "When I destroy all evil, my name will strike fear into their hearts! That way, people will finally live in true peace!" Eventually, one of the blasts hits Mainstream Sonic and sent him crashing to the ground.

"My One-Planet Regime was supposed to deal with you Insurgents, and they all fell like this…" Regime Sonic admitted. "I always thought of the Insurgency as a minor nuisance, that's why I entrusted them with your destruction." His anger fumed up, "But because of those duplicates, and the traitors siding with them, my perfect world is ruined!" He then calmed down with a deep sigh, "It doesn't matter, though. I'll finish what they could not. I'll rebuild this planet by myself if I had to."

When Mainstream Sonic stood up weakly, his eyes burned with determination. He began to laugh, "I wouldn't worry if I were you, evil me." He stood back up, "It's over! You know as well as I do… it's never gonna happen! You can blow up the whole planet and put it back together again, but you're still not getting our freedom! You only made a 'perfect world' through pain and suffering. You can't expect peace to grow from that?"

Regime Sonic said nonchalantly, "I've given what the people wanted."

"Through the means that _you_ wanted," Mainstream Sonic corrected. "You've set yourself up to fall hard, like all tyrants do. Do you honestly think that if you rule the world through fear, they'll look up to you as a role model?" He saw the confused expression on Regime Sonic's face, and his smile festered, "It's like you said. The whole world's full of evil. But it's _also_ full of good. Good and evil are _both_ sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other, because good and evil's half of everything. It's not so easy sticking it to your brain, is it, Sonic?"

Regime Sonic's fury had reached its peak. His eyes were full of hatred and wrath. In a scream of rage, Regime Sonic released a mighty shockwave of Chaos Energy upon himself. Mainstream Sonic stood his ground, but the wave of energy was pushing him back. Regime Sonic's body surged with a large amount of Chaos Energy, flaring like a wild battery.

"SHUT UP!" Regime Sonic bellowed. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!"

"More than you!" Mainstream Sonic shot back. "I think it's about time you learn the first thing about respect and accepting the world as it is! It's about the guy who others can respect and respect back! It's about doing the right thing, even after everything we care about is gone! It's about fighting enemies not by killing them, but bringing them to justice to let the way of the world work things out for you!" He bravely stared at his raging Regime counterpart, "Listen to yourself, Sonic! You brought it all on you, and you've set the stage of what precedent will be done to you."

But looking into Regime Sonic's eyes, he saw nothing to suggest that he wasn't convinced. The hedgehog with the cool attitude, personality, and strong sense of justice was dead, consumed by a world in darkness and chaos. The eyes spat cruel vengeance, because they no longer knew how to do anything else.

"Oh, yeah?" Regime Sonic replied. "You don't know who you're messing with. I'm a lot stronger than any of you ever dreamed. I could take over the world by force anytime I want!" His Chaos Energy erupted into cosmic proportions, "AND YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP ME! YOUR BEST BET IS TO JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Mainstream Sonic glared, "Sounds like you're just begging for someone to knock you down a few notches. I can do that!" He summoned all the might he could muster for another Sonic Boost to the chest. No matter how hard he tried, Regime Sonic's Chaos Energy looked to be cushioning the blow.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" Regime Sonic pressed his hand onto Mainstream Sonic's chest. The Chaos Energy flew onto his chest and sent him skyrocketing. Regime Sonic went on to unleash a massive aerial combo that decimated Mainstream Sonic. With a final kick, he forced his Mainstream counterpart to the ground. He was on his back, moderately injured and paralyzed by static Chaos Energy.

Regime Sonic raised his arm towards the sky, a large stream of Chaos Energy pouring right into him. He called, "Can you feel the energy from the Chaos Power I've summoned forth?"

Mainstream Sonic did his best to move his body, but his injuries kept straining him. Even with the endurance pill he took, his strength seemed to fail him. He argued, "What the heck? I can't… move a muscle!"

The Chaos Energy levitated above and formed into a giant floating ball ready to drop. Regime Sonic declared, "It will plummet from the heavens, and turn you into ash! **Chaos Bomb!** " He gave the order as the giant ball dropped from above, crashing down on Mainstream Sonic.

 **KABOOM!**

A shroud of light vacated. As soon as the smoke cleared, Regime Sonic's rage turned to a slight smirk. He chuckled, "So who's the fastest thing alive now?" No response came from the smoldering rubble. His voice then erupted into incomprehensible laughter, "GUESS YOU CAN'T REALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION SINCE YOU'VE TURNED TO DUST!" His laughter subsided to make way for his cool flair, "This is it. Once I done with the Insurgency, I'm going after your world! And then, Sally will be mine again!"

"You wish!" a voice shouted.

To Regime Sonic's complete surprise, he gazed over the other side to see Sonic in his Super form for a third time, having used the Chaos Emeralds just in time to save himself from certain death. The golden-furred hedgehog stared fearlessly at his evil duplicate, Chaos Energy dancing off his spines.

"Super Sonic?!" Regime Sonic demanded. "You stole the Chaos Emeralds, and somehow, you brought them back?!"

Super Sonic grinned, "I just thought I could use an edge to even the score."

Regime Sonic scoffed, "You equal my power?" He laughed cockily, "You'll end up dead soon anyway. Anybody who dares to stand in my way will be eliminated!" Waves of Chaos Energy flailed around Regime Sonic as his eyes filled with nothing but anger, flickering yellow to white. He continued, "It's true that one of us is the fastest thing alive. The question is, who deserves the title?"

Super Sonic readied himself, "Let's find out, shall we?"

 **FINAL STAGE 2: SUPER SONIC VS. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (REGIME)**

Super Sonic charged in at Regime Sonic. The first step was to wear down the Regime leader with rapid punches, kicks, Homing Attacks, Spin Attacks, and Spin Dashes. Until Regime Sonic can't take no more, Super Sonic punched back, forcing him to scoot back farther. Regime Sonic charged up his left arm and swatted Super Sonic back, who recovered in the air and countered with a Super Spin Attack, hitting Regime Sonic.

In response, Regime Sonic flew up and fired back a barrage of Chaos Balls. Sonic dodged them all, and countered with a lightning fast series of punches and kicks, followed by another Super Spin Attack. Super Sonic then performed a combination of multiple Homing Attacks and Spin Dashes, and concluded the combo with a raging Super Sonic Boost attack, launching himself like a fireball of golden light. It hits the Regime leader to the chest, sending him flying in the air and crashing into a nearby ruined small building, destroying it in a smoldering cloud of dust.

Just when Super Sonic was going to celebrate, his evil duplicate's voice peered through the smoke. As it cleared, Regime Sonic emerged, his body moderately injured.

"Don't get cocky, you stupid hedgehog…" Regime Sonic groaned. "I've still got one more trick up my sleeve!"

Super Sonic crossed his arms and grinned, "Go ahead. I'm ready for whatever trick you can pull on me. Tricks get outsmarted every time."

Regime Sonic asked, "You want to know why my body was filled with so much Chaos Energy? I'll let you in on that little secret. I haven't told anyone about this except my friends, because I'd hate to let out my regime's inner workings. But I guess I can trust you…"

Regime Sonic's small smile grew vicious as he chanted a few words:

" _Chaos Limiter: Release._ "

Once again, the Chaos Energy pulsing from Regime Sonic's body erupted into electricity spreading everywhere. Only this time, the golden color was replaced with pure black. The more the Chaos Energy surged, the more its color turned black. When the darkness continued spreading, Regime Sonic's normal appearance changed. His fur was now blue-indigo with white streaks, four golden rings surrounded his wrists and ankles, and his gloves and shoves have completely disappeared. Regime Sonic's eyes opened, revealing to be pure white.

Chuckling evilly, the newly transformed Regime Sonic declared with a more demonic voice.

Super Sonic's face and voice changed to shock, "Darkspine… Sonic?!"

"Surprised by my new form?" Darkspine Sonic grinned. "It is the absolute true form of my Chaos Power when I absorbed all the negative energy from the Chaos Emeralds. Of course, I saved a small portion for Perfect Chaos, but the rest… it was all me."

Super Sonic's eyes widened with realization as he said, "So that's why I undid Perfect Chaos so easily! He wasn't fighting back when I made the first hit! How?!"

Darkspine Sonic answered, "Finitevus helped me. During the experiment, all of the Emeralds' negative energy transferred to my cells, the procedure increasing my power over the Chaos Force to unimaginable levels, taking me beyond all others! I don't even have to transform into Super Sonic for this one! Unfortunately, my new powers have proven to be much… unstable. So Finitevus created for me a limiter that contains my powers, and only I can override it."

"A limiter?" Super Sonic asked. "You mean to tell me you've been holding back this whole time?"

Darkspine Sonic explained, "Obviously, if I unleashed all my powers from the get-go, everything around me tends to die, and that wouldn't be too much… fun."

Super Sonic demanded, "You mean you're STILL holding back?!"

Darkspine Sonic chuckled, "You know, it's been a long time since I used the Darkspine technique. It is very intimidating, don't you think? In case you haven't noticed, I'm much more powerful in this form. You don't have a chance of winning, and you'll all be dead."

Super Sonic looked at Darkspine Sonic in anger, "That's going too far! Your evil ways have gone long enough. One way or another, I'm taking you down!"

Darkspine Sonic laughed maniacally, "You think I'M evil?! Don't sweat the details, Sonic. The Chaos Energy I absorbed was negative, yes. But if there's one thing I learned, power trumps everything else." His dark expression festered, "Power is peace. Power is justice. Power is knowledge. Power is desire. Power… is everything. Everything… everything… everything."

His body bursts with thunderous negative Chaos Energy spreading throughout the city. Darkspine Sonic's voice rose to a glorious roar, "POWER IS WAY PAST COOL!"

With that, Darkspine Sonic vanished and reappeared in a flash of darkness in front of Super Sonic. The evil hedgehog's eyes narrowed, and Super Sonic's punch was caught one-handed. The dark energy flared up around Darkspine Sonic, as he pulled back his other hand. He unleashed a brutal, devastating series of punches and kicks in the ground, then in the air, then on the ground again, the last blow sending Super Sonic through multiple buildings.

As soon as Super Sonic recovered, he flew towards his evil counterpart with a vicious glare.

"Here we go again…" Super Sonic sighed as he readied himself for the real final battle.

The fate of both worlds will be decided!

 **FINAL STAGE 3: SUPER SONIC VS. DARKSPINE SONIC**

Super Sonic shot forward with a vicious head butt colliding with Darkspine Sonic's chest, followed by a lightning fast 100-hit punch combo, and concluded with a kick that knocked him skyward. Super Sonic then charged with a Spin Dash, flew at the speed of light, and struck an airborne Darkspine Sonic with an upward kick, followed by a Super Spin Attack that sent the evil hedgehog pummeling to the ground. Recovering quickly by slamming his feet to the ground, cracking it on impact, Darkspine Sonic looked up to see Super Sonic charging his left hand for a trademark attack.

"Super Sonic Wind!" Super Sonic shot down the crescent-shaped energy blade towards his evil duplicate. Darkspine Sonic ducked at the last moment as the Super Sonic Wind sliced a building in half, a clean diagonal cut causing the top of the building to slide off. Darkspine Sonic countered by firing a gigantic Chaos Beam towards his duplicate, Super Sonic firing another Super Sonic Wind. The two energy blasts exploded, temporarily blinding Super Sonic. When he opened his eyes, Darkspine Sonic was rushing up to meet him. In a furious clash, a flurry of punches and kicks flew thick and fast and were expertly dealt, dodged, or blocked by both hedgehogs. Finally, Darkspine Sonic kicked Super Sonic back a few feet.

"Not bad, evil me. Not bad at all!" Super Sonic grinned, charging up his Chaos Energy.

"I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Darkspine Sonic declared, and in turn, charged his own Chaos Energy.

The two hedgehogs crashed into each other, the two energy forces struggling to overcome one another. When the energy collision subsided, Super and Darkspine clashed at unprecedented speeds throughout the whole city of New Mobotropolis. The clash ended when an ill timed punch from Super Sonic was blocked by Darkspine Sonic, who returned the favor with a vicious hook to the gut. Air gasped out of Super Sonic's mouth as his duplicate doubled over.

Seizing his chance, Darkspine Sonic delivered a devastating punch-combo to Super Sonic that flew like a machine gun, mixed with a few Chaos Control teleports from one part of the city to the next. Unable to block the rapid fire punches, Super Sonic found himself being used like a punching bag. Before Darkspine Sonic would hit again, Super Sonic ducked a right fist and grabbed his wrist. Super Sonic swung his evil duplicate around and around, and finished by launching the dark hedgehog into multiple buildings, and finally crashing into the face of a large building. Stunned for at least a few seconds, Darkspine Sonic opened his eyes, an evil grin appearing on his face.

Darkspine Sonic recharged his energy, the intensity causing the building to collapse as a result. He leapt back into the fight, and launched millions of Dark Chaos Spears at his golden-furred duplicate. With his supersonic speed, Super Sonic dodged them all as he approached his dark counterpart. After another exchange of blows and dodging of moves, Super Sonic countered with a shoulder to Darkspine Sonic's face, sending him to the ground. Super Sonic fired multiple Super Sonic Winds to his distracted evil duplicate, but Darkspine Sonic teleported out of range, reappeared, and sent him plummeting to the ground with a two-fisted hammer punch.

With a vicious growl, Darkspine Sonic charged his Chaos Energy to tremendous levels. Black lightning flashed as darkness gathered in Darkspine Sonic's outstretched palms.

Darkspine Sonic chuckled evilly, "Some people just can't WAIT to die!"

Stuck on the ground in a seemingly bad state, Super Sonic groaned, "Why don't you just give up the fight? This planet doesn't belong to you… It never will!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Darkspine Sonic smirked. " ** _Chaos Spear: Infinite Dark Rain!_** " On cue, dozens of dark energy blasts rained down on Super Sonic, hitting him a million times over. Super Sonic's invulnerability would have allowed him to endure this much many, but seeing that Chaos-attacks are effective against Chaos-coating, it is extremely painful. Super Sonic screamed in agony as the onslaught of Dark Chaos Spears scorched his body, his Super form about to wear out at any minute. Every blast connects, forming a Chaos energy bubble pinning Super Sonic to the ground. Darkspine Sonic then swung his hand upward, charging Chaos Energy into the air to create another giant Chaos Bomb, its black electricity sparkling above.

" ** _Dark Chaos Bomb!_** " screamed Darkspine Sonic. The energy bomb flew deadly and straight, striking the pulsating white energy bubble at its base. The point of impact blew up in a blast of dark light, the concussion. When the blast died down, Super Sonic was transformed back into Normal Sonic out of the rubble, bruised and battered.

Darkspine Sonic floated down towards the rubble, looking disdainfully at his Mainstream counterpart's wretched state. He informed, "Didn't anybody ever tell you to respect your elders, punk?"

A continuous cough plastered from Mainstream Sonic's mouth. He replied with much anger he could muster, "Like heck…"

"That was your last mistake, freak! NOW I'M GONNA OBLITERATE YOU!" Darkspine Sonic roared, and he channeled his Dark Chaos Energy to insurmountable levels than he had ever reached before, making the rubble and dust rise from the ground. The four golden energy rings on his wrists and ankles shattered into pieces and fell off, unleashing Darkspine Sonic's true power. With a Chaos fuelled roar, Darkspine Sonic's inner Chaos Energy bursts to the surface, his dark aura growing the size of a building.

He's completely lost it! That much Chaos Energy could not just wipe out Sonic, but the whole city as well! Darkspine Sonic bursts with maniacal laughter as he continued powering up.

The level has already been reached. It was time.

"CHAOS… **BLAAAASSSSTTTT!** "

An immense torrent of Dark Chaos Energy spread with blinding speed, engulfing nearly the whole city into its basking darkness. The people in it, along with the Regime and Insurgency members, were ensnared as well. All of New Mobotropolis was a darkly lit haven…

But…

…Just then, the entire spread of Dark Chaos Energy halted. It suddenly split itself up into multiple beams of energy and flew off in a group in a horizontal direction.

And as the beams reached their destined target…

…they were all sucked in! A brilliant shining light vacuumed the torrents of Dark Chaos Energy into the large green gemstone standing on top of a nearby building. It was the Master Emerald! And it was not alone. Knuckles and Tails must've brought the Master Emerald from Angel Island to help their world's Sonic… by chanting Tikal's Prayer to cancel Darkspine Sonic's ultimate attack!

Mainstream Sonic used all his remaining strength to move his head and look at the rooftop. He weakly cried, "Tails! Knuckles!"

Tails yelled, "Sonic! Now's your chance!"

Knuckles added, "Get him!"

Nodding with determination, Mainstream Sonic found new resolve as a yellow aura of Chaos covered his body. "Now it's time to get serious!" he growled.

With a mighty scream, Mainstream Sonic turned back into Super Sonic, the transformation instantly restoring him to full health. He stood up from the ground and floated in the air, confronting Darkspine Sonic one more time.

Super Sonic smirked, motioning his hand to dare his evil counterpart, "Ready for Round 2?"

" **WHY, YOU LITTLE…!** " Darkspine Sonic was not pleased that his Mainstream counterpart still lives. His rage had reached its final limit. " **I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOOOOOUUUU!** "

As if answering Darkspine Sonic's frustration, Super Sonic started charging his Light Chaos Powers, his evil counterpart doing the same with his Dark Chaos Powers. The two hedgehogs clashed once more at unprecedented speeds, their energy flashing throughout the city. Punches and kicks were expertly blocked or dealt by both hedgehogs, the crashing of blows echoing like thunder and lightning. The whole planet of Mobius was at a standstill as every citizen watched news reports of the planet-shaking duel between Super and Darkspine.

Finding himself knocked back, Super Sonic boosted, the full power of the Chaos Emeralds flowing through his body. The golden hedgehog flew at Darkspine Sonic to the chest with a mighty Super Sonic Boost, followed by a speed-of-sound fist colliding with the villain's cheek. Darkspine Sonic was sent flying backwards, followed by Super Sonic, who delivered a lightning fast 150-hit combo. A swift upwards kick then sent Darkspine Sonic careering into open outer space. As soon as Darkspine Sonic recovered, he charged his fist with Chaos Energy, Sonic doing the same with his.

"Super Sonic…"

"Super Sonic…"

"WIND!" Both hedgehogs fired their respective crescent-shaped energy blades, Super of blue color and Darkspine of black color. The two blasts neutralized each other, and the two super-charged hedgehogs continued their fight.

After another clash of unprecedented speeds out of Mobius's orbit, Darkspine Sonic was slammed into an asteroid, breaking through and ending up on another one beyond. Teleporting back to Super Sonic, he took the hero by surprise, a double axe-handle sending Super Sonic crashing into the surface of the moon. Recovering quickly, Super Sonic charged for a Super Sonic Spin Dash, hitting Darkspine Sonic in the midriff and carrying his foe back to the planet's surface. Super Sonic increased his speed to cosmic levels before kicking Darkspine Sonic straight back to Mobius, crash-landing at the square of New Mobotropolis and creating a huge crater as a result of the searing heat from passing through the planet's atmosphere.

Darkspine Sonic weakly stood up, moderately injured and breathing hard, having been pushed to his limits by his Mainstream counterpart. Super Sonic reappeared on solid ground, no worse for wear from the interstellar battle.

Super Sonic rubbed his nose and cockily smiled, "Had enough yet?"

Darkspine Sonic breathed raggedly, "No… This can't be… I'm the savior of this world… I'm supposed to be invincible… I'm supposed to be… unbeatable…" His rage rose to its highest, "You stupid hedgehog… Shadow and Finitevus… The Insurgency… Those duplicates… The pathetic people of this planet… EVERY WORLD IN THIS UNIVERSE… AND THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE!" He then roared at the top of his lungs, " **YOUR TIME IS OVER NOOOOOOOWWWWW!** "

Overwhelming power surging through him, Darkspine Sonic rose up into the air, both hands holding together above his head to form a gigantic raging ball of energy the size of a small planet, filled with every ounce of Dark Chaos Energy.

Super Sonic, still stood on terra firma, held both arms out to the side, and called upon the power of the Master Emerald. His Chaos Energy resonating with the large green gemstone, its limitless energy rose up, drawn towards Super Sonic like a magnet. The golden energy sparked in with the Master Emerald's, gathering more power than he had possessed before.

Two incredible forces of nature united against one formidable force of darkness.

In sync with each other, the colossal Dark Chaos Energy Ball hurled down, while Super Sonic unleashed his own ultimate attack: the Master Super Sonic Boost. The two attacks met, each trying to outdo the other. Suddenly, Darkspine Sonic's energy ball moved away, shunted back by Super Sonic's increased power. In desperation, Darkspine Sonic fired four smaller blasts into the gargantuan energy ball, its power now beginning to overwhelm Super Sonic. The ball crept closer and closer to the surface. Super Sonic closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, putting everything he had into stopping the ball of destruction.

Just then, two of Super Sonic's trustworthy allies came to his rescue. With a roar, Knuckles allowed the power of the Master Emerald to wash over him. An explosion of Chaos Energy, and Hyper Knuckles stood glowing, his pink fur glowing with pure power. Tails let out a shout of his own, as the Master Emerald turned his orange fur golden. The protective Flickies circling his body suggests that Super Tails was ready.

The two newly transformed heroes shot into the sky, appearing behind Darkspine Sonic. Super Sonic looked up in surprise to see his friends there, risking themselves to help him. Darkspine Sonic, on the other hand, registered shock and fear. Super Tails grabbed hold of Hyper Knuckles' wrist and spun into a tornado of gold and pink, before launching the hyper echidna, fists first towards Darkspine Sonic.

With the evil hedgehog's attention diverted, Super Sonic pumped every ounce of his energy into his Master Super Sonic Boost. The ultimate dash attack pierced through Darkspine Sonic's gigantic energy bomb, obliterating the buildup of Dark Chaos Energy. Hyper Knuckles collided with Darkspine Sonic, his momentum pushing the villain headfirst into the Master Super Sonic Boost!

" **No… No… NOOOOOOOOOO!** "

 **KA-BOOOOOOOM!**

" **I— HATE— THAT— HEDGEHOG!** "

Darkspine Sonic lets out a defining torturous scream, ringing loud and clear, as his body was pierced through the chest by the Master Super Sonic Boost. Still screaming, the evil hedgehog desperately held his chest in his arms as fell down into the streets below, already feeling the positive power of Chaos Energy taking effect. A bright light left behind by Super Sonic's trail enveloped Darkspine Sonic's fur in bright light, his negative Chaos Energy vanishing afterwards...

In the end, Darkspine Sonic was no more. He has been reverted to his original blue form with his hands and feet bare and exposed.

He lay there, unconscious, not moving.

As Super Sonic, Super Tails, and Hyper Knuckles glided down, they reverted back to their normal forms and looked over the defeated leader of the One-Planet Regime.

Sonic wiped his head from sweat, "Wow! That was cathartic!"

"We did it!" Tails cheered excitedly. "We won! We knew you could do it!"

With a beaming grin on his face, Sonic complied by bumping fists with Knuckles, and ruffling Tails hair. He replied, "Thanks, guys. You're a big helping hand."

Knuckles placed his hands on Sonic's shoulders and laughed, "You jerk! You should've saved some action for us! But what do you think friends are for?" A thumbs-up from the blue hedgehog was his only answer.

Before the celebration could continue, the unconscious body of Regime Sonic finally moved. Distorted groans were the only noises he could make. The groans are followed by continuous coughing, a few giving a little bit of blood from his mouth.

Mainstream Sonic smiled sarcastically, "Aw, am I awake? Good! But ending a stand-off between two Sonics would do that, wouldn't it? You hear me, evil me? You're done. Your reign is over." He knelt down over his beaten duplicate, "I'll leave the speeches about 'winning the day' and 'conquering evil' to my friends in my world. I'll be content with 'nyah nyah' and 'I win.'"

Regime Sonic slowly bent his head towards Mainstream Sonic's face. His eyes opened, giving a mean stare at his duplicate's sarcastic eyes.

"N-No…" Regime Sonic gritted his teeth. "I won't… let you win…"

With all of his remaining strength, Regime Sonic pointed his open palm in front of his Mainstream counterpart, attempting to fire a blast of Chaos Energy…

…but no energy was channeled. No blast was fired.

No matter how many times he tried, Regime Sonic's Chaos Energy failed him.

"How…?" Regime Sonic weakly exclaimed. "Why…?"

Mainstream Sonic chuckled, "Well, well, well. Looks like my Master Emerald-juiced Super Sonic Boost destroyed every bit of negative Chaos Energy in your body, especially your cells." His sarcastic grin festered. "That means you're back to what you used to be before you acted so high and mighty: a sad, hopeless, empty hedgehog whose sense of righteousness burns out."

"Cheated… on me… I'm… a savior…" Regime Sonic snarled weakly. "I protect… this world… You're… _nothing_ …"

Nonchalantly, Mainstream Sonic punched his Regime counterpart two times, followed by a knee to the jaw.

Angrily grabbing Regime Sonic's fur, Mainstream Sonic pointed out, "You're _no_ savior. And you're _no_ protector. You're a _big bully_ , and that's it. You take the easy, nasty way out of the good side and instead, you chose the wrong side. Because you're consumed by madness."

"Oh, really?" Regime Sonic growled. "What if what happened to me, happened to you?"

Mainstream Sonic shoved Regime Sonic away, releasing his grip. He replied, "It's like I said before. It's about accepting the world as it is, even if there is too much evil in it. It's about respecting others and respecting back. It's about doing the right thing, even after we lose the things we care about. It's about letting the way of our world work things out for people, good or bad. And me? I do things the right way, even if life isn't always fair for me. I help others make something bigger and better than just mean. The good guys always win in the long run." He then smiled and pointed to himself, "And there isn't anybody who can run longer or better than I can." His expression then turned serious, "That's why you'll never be a hero. That's why you'll never be a protector. And that's why… you'll _never_ be Sonic the Hedgehog. You won't hurt these people any longer."

For a brief second, the façade of cruelty was replaced with aching fear in Regime Sonic's expression. All of the rage, the aggression, the madness… it was all just a mask to comfort himself from all the pain and sadness five years ago… because he was alone.

Alone in a world where he was feared by everyone he knows. Alone in a world where no one would accept him.

Forcing himself up, Regime Sonic forced himself up a bit to tell Mainstream Sonic something.

"Fear…" he groaned. "...is the only thing anyone would understand. One day… you'll learn…" With that, Regime Sonic fell back.

Mainstream Sonic and his friends looked to see that their world's versions of Amy, Bunnie, Antoine, Espio, and Monkey Khan had arrived along with the Insurgency's Shadow. They surrounded the fallen High Councilor, who knelt on his feet.

"You'll have to kill me," Regime Sonic warned, shooting a mean look.

"No," Insurgency Shadow replied. "Not even you. There's been enough killing."

" **The High Councilor has fallen!** " Monkey Khan declared with a loud and clear voice to the heavens, raising his sparkling thunder staff in victory. " **Victory is ours!** "

That was the cue. The Freedom Fighters, the Insurgency, and the whole planet of Mobius erupted into cheers as the feeling of the One-Planet Regime's ultimate downfall overwhelmed them. They have succeeded! They were free!

Freedom… What a glorious feeling it must have been. Freedom is something they've been longing for since the end of the Great War and Robotnik Prime's ultimate demise, especially when Dr. Eggman's robotic city of New Megalopolis blew up.

"Sonic!" The voice of Sally Acorn echoed throughout the same street where the ex-High Councilor had fallen. Even he himself heard that familiar voice.

Sally came to her world's Sonic, placing an arm on his shoulder and letting out a light-hearted chuckle.

That's all Regime Sonic needed to see.

" _Sally…_ "

The sound, the whole victory celebration drowned out around him. Upon seeing the face of his long lost love one last time, Regime Sonic's face contorted in despair with tears, barely hearing his voice cry out a sobbing cry.

The soundless sobbing turned into similarly silent yelling, then howling, then screaming. He repeatedly screamed Sally's name over and over, suddenly catching the attention of Mainstream Sonic and his world's Sally amidst the small respite. He was suddenly joined by the Insurgency's Tails, Fiona, and Fang. Their hands began dragging Regime Sonic away. He struggled against the hands, tearing them away in fury, desperately trying to get to Sally… but every attempt failed him.

His friends were gone. His family was gone. His hopes were gone. His dreams were gone.

Sally Acorn, the only one he ever loved in this world, was gone from his life.

He had lost everything.

He now had nothing.


	16. Epilogue

**A FEW DAYS AGO…**

 **The Streets of Station Square...**

Mainstream Bunnie and Antoine threw Regime Rouge into the prison bus along with the last remaining Regime members— the only members who willingly served the High Councilor, mostly consisting of former villains— into the prison bus. They watched as the last Regime operative to enter— Regime Bunnie— walked on willingly, cuffed behind her back.

She paused for a minute to look at the parallel duplicates of herself and her husband. The counterpart of the one man he loved, who died in New Mobotropolis. Antoine simply smiled, while Bunnie gave a salute, to which Regime Bunnie complied with a silent nod. Unlike the other Regime members, she was doing this willingly, and would pay with whatever sentence was given to her to make up for what she had done.

The back door closed, and the prison bus drove off with the captured Regiments, with Regime Bunnie looking at Antoine one last time until he faded from view.

 **Insurgency HQ…**

Dr. Eggman was forcibly walking into the inter-dimensional transporter's portal designed to send him back to his own Mobius. Mobius Prime's Shadow and Insurgency Hope stood by the portal vigilantly as this world's version of Snively forced him forward with a gun which he occasionally had to shove behind his back to keep him moving.

 **Angel Island…**

" _Sonic and his accomplices have been rounded up, or turned themselves in. As for the ones who defected, like Tails and Fiona, they decided to remain with us and help with the reconstruction."_

" _At the very least, helping others is the best way to make up for what they did. Am I right, dupli-Shadow?_ "

Knuckles watched as the Regime duplicates of himself and Julie-Su were being taken away by the Echidna warriors. The two echidnas have been strapped in restraints designed to cancel out their Chaos Energy. Regime Knuckles shot one last dirty look at his Mainstream self before being dragged away, Regime Julie-Su bowing down her head in regret. Mainstream Knuckles jumped off the edge of the Master Emerald's altar and glided in the air to rejoin his friends for the trip back to his reality.

 **The Dragon Kingdom…**

" _Yes, Sonic. Now all that remains is to restore civil order._ "

" _The transitional government's got its hands full, but we're here if they need a hand._ _"_

" _Thanks, but no. The people need to know they're in control, not us."_

Mainstream Khan brought the imprisoned Regime Khan and the Iron General Jun Kun to face trial in front of the Dragon Kingdom's newly established court.

 **The New Mobotropolis Cemetery…**

" _So you still haven't changed your mind?_ _"_

" _I respect the president's offer, but I don't belong in politics. None of us do._ _"_

Espio stared at the tomb which had been built in record time following the One-Planet Regime's defeat. It was built over a small pool of water, leading up to a slab featuring the image a white Albino Echidna. Underneath the carved face read the words 'Here Lies Finitevus: A True Hero, Believer, Husband, and Father. His Sacrifice Will Never Be Forgotten' engraved in the slab. Espio placed his right fist into the palm of his left hand and bowed silently in respect towards the grave, offering the greatest tribute he can bestow. Espio left the gravesite to rejoin his friends as they would depart soon.

" _Ha-ha-ha,_ _still think the Ultimate Life Form's got a place here?_ _"_

" _Crime and war will return, Sonic. Espio would've called me a pessimist. I'm just being realistic._ _"_

" _What about your Sonic?_ _"_

" _We took him to Prison Island. It turns out he's completely drained of his Chaos Powers, thanks to you. Until then, he'll stand trial. They all will._ _"_

* * *

 **A FEW DAYS LATER…**

 **Insurgency HQ**

The Freedom Fighters and Insurgents gathered together to talk one last time before the Mainstream heroes would take the way back home.

Sonic grinned crossing his arms, "Looks like the ex-Big Blue won't be getting out of there anytime soon." The Freedom Fighters chuckled in agreement, a few Insurgents joining in.

Snively spoke, drying a single tear from his eyes, "Words cannot express how much we wanted to thank you, duplicates, especially your Sonic. You've given us back our freedom, our hope, our dignity, and our lives."

Sonic chuckled, "Aw, it was nothing. How can we help you back, Colin?"

Ex-Regime Tails interjected and smiled, "You guys have done enough for us already. Now that we're free and Sonic is out of the picture, it's up to us to make this world a better place for everyone."

Hope agreed, placing a hand on Tails' shoulder, "It will be hard work, but we can do it together! We'll rebuild our world into the best we could ever dream of! All of us! This was Dr. Finitevus's final wish!"

Bean agreed, standing on top of Bark's shoulders, "Yeah! It'll be a bigger playground for everyone to play in! A brand new world where all of us can laugh and play and sing all day long!" Bark silently nodded.

Fang smiled with hands on his hips, "And a brand new world means brand new bounties to collect. But I think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it for the money today, you know?"

"Money?" Bean exclaimed hearing those words. Then again, this was a very serious reminder. "Oh, yeah! Fiona promised us lots of money! Cupcakes too! We almost forgot!"

Suddenly, Bark heard someone walking along the floor behind them, only for him and Bean to turn around and see Fiona trying to sneak off.

"FIONA!" Bean cried joyfully. "MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! CUPCAKES! CUPCAKES! CUPCAKES!"

Fiona dared to turn in Bean and Bark's direction, witnessing a polar bear and a dynamite rampaging towards her. Yelping, the vixen sped off as fast as her legs would take her, in hopes of getting out of her "promised payment." As for the rest, they simply burst in jovial laughter at that façade.

Bunnie called her friends, "C'mon, y'all! Let's get out of here and not make a mess of their rebuildin'."

Mainstream Shadow elected to be the first to go. He said, "Time to return home."

Bunnie gave a salute to the Insurgency, "So long, partners!"

Amy cheerfully waved her hand, "Goodbye, not-so-evil world! Goodbye, everybody! I hope we'll meet again someday!"

Antoine waved enthusiastically, " _Au revoir, mon ami!_ "

Khan bowed in respect, "Thank you for asking for our help."

Espio placed his right fist into the palm of his left hand and bowed, "It has been an honor to serve."

Knuckles saluted and smiled, "Take care of yourselves, you hear?"

With that, Shadow, Bunnie, Antoine, Amy, Knuckles, Khan, and Espio left for the inter-dimensional portal and disappeared in a bright light. Snively, Hope, and Fang sent them off with goodbyes of their own.

"Goodbye, everybody! See you again!" Hope called, waving a hand cheerfully.

"Good-bye! I'll miss you!" Snively cried with tears of joy.

"So long!" Fang called with a salute.

Insurgency Shadow simply crossed his arms and replied with a smile and a simple "Hmph."

Before Sonic could leave with the rest of his friends, he stood beside the ex-Regime version of Tails.

"Well, ex-Regime Tails," Sonic grinned. "This was a way past cool adventure in your world, don't you think?" He then noticed a cheerful expression appearing in the two-tailed fox's face. "Hey, what's with the smile and the cheesy look? You remind me of my Tails."

Ex-Regime Tails cheered and hugged Sonic tightly. Though this Sonic is a world apart from his, Tails couldn't help but embrace the feeling of seeing his big brother again for the first time in years. He cried, "Oh, alternate big bro! You're the bestest best EVER!"

That moment was interrupted when Mainstream Tails dragged Sonic away, breaking Ex-Regime Tails' hug. Mainstream Tails glared jealously at his counterpart before shoving Sonic to the portal, who waved silently at the Insurgents with a nervous smile.

Sally was the last to enter as she smiled to herself, "Let's go home."

All of the Freedom Fighters vanished into the portal, returning them to their original world. The plug has been pulled. The portal has shut down. The transporter has been offline.

Now the Insurgency is left to themselves with one last job.

"Come on, guys. We've got work to do," Ex-Regime Tails told his friends, and they all joined together to rebuild their war-torn world.

* * *

 **THAT AFTERNOON…  
New Mobotropolis Plaza, Mobius Prime**

"Well, Sonic… If we hadn't saved their world, our world was almost threatened by a war that may be worse than Dr. Eggman's or Moebius. I wonder if our other friends are laughing right now about everything that happened back there. But even so…"

Sally was talking to Sonic, who lied down on the branch of a tree with his arms stretched around the back of his head. Sighing, Sonic looked up in the sky.

"He was right, you know," Sonic said.

"About what?" Sally asked curiously.

Sonic stood up and stretched his arms. He explained, "Put in the same position, I might've done the same thing. What if our friends were gone from our lives, and we end up losing our minds? We never know what we're capable of, 'cause it's life…"

The leader of the Freedom Fighters was silent at first, but she found the right words to say, "I truly hope for our world's sake, you don't find out." She placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "Just keep this in mind."

"Yeah?" Sonic asked.

"If something ever does happen, and you do lose it…" Sally assured. "We'll be there for you. We'll help you anyway we can, and we'll turn you back to the good side. No matter what it takes."

Sonic couldn't help but let out a light-hearted chuckle at Sally's assuring words.

"You'll have to get in line, Sal," Sonic smiled. "I gotta face the worst threat of all: Gone without eating chili dogs at an empty stomach for a whole hour. So what do you say? Care for a walk in the park after getting some chili dogs, just like old times?"

Sally just giggled and blushed.

"Yeah. Just like old times."

With that, the two held hands and walked off together. Just like old times, indeed. Can you just feel the love?

* * *

Oh, and whatever happened to the Regime version of Amy Rose? She was still locked up in that empty escape pod, stranded and floating aimlessly in the middle of the ocean.

"Hello?" Amy whispered despairingly, tears continuously streaming down her face. "Hello? Sonic? Anybody? Aw, come on…"

The escape pod continued flailing around, with a flock of seagulls standing on top of it. One thing's for sure, we won't be hearing from the Regime's ex-Assistant High Councilor anytime soon. Two identical yet separate worlds can now live in peace, never to taste the foul flavor of injustice from gods among Mobians ever again.

 **THE END**


	17. Credits and Ending Song

**Main Cast**

 _Roger Craig Smith as Sonic the Hedgehog, Neo Metal Sonic  
_ _Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Miles "Tails" Prower  
_ _Travis Willingham as Knuckles the Echidna  
_ _Cindy Robinson as Amy Rose  
_ _Christine Marie Cabanos as Bunnie-D'Coolette  
_ _Troy Baker as Espio the Chameleon  
_ _Keith Silverstein as Vector the Crocodile  
_ _Michelle Ruff as Julie-Su  
_ _Johnny Yong Bosch as Monkey Khan  
_ _Kirk Thornton as Shadow the Hedgehog  
_ _Karen Strassman as Rouge the Bat  
_ _Vic Mignogna as E-123 Omega  
_ _Stephanie Sheh as Fiona Fox  
_ _Mike Pollock as Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik  
_ _Brian Beacock as Snively Robotnik/Colin Kintobor  
_ _Kyle Hebert as Dr. Finitevus  
_ _Neil Kaplan as Mammoth Mogul  
_ _Liam O'Brien as Ixis Naugus  
_ _Patrick Seitz as Jun Kun the Iron King, Bark the Polar Bear (grunts)  
_ _Mary Elizabeth McGylnn Chaos Zero  
_ _Taliesin Jaffe as Fang the Sniper  
_ _Spike Spencer as Bean the Dynamite_

 **Secondary Cast**

 _Cristina Valenzuela as Hope Kintobor  
_ _Todd Haberkorn as Drago Wolf  
_ _Matthew Mercer as Antoine D'Coolette, Mighty the Armadillo  
_ _Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Charmy Bee, Li Moon  
_ _Stephanie Sheh as Lien-Da, Nicole the Holo-Lynx, Saffron Bee  
_ _Bryce Papenbrook as Rotor Walrus  
_ _Troy Baker as Li Yuen  
_ _Spike Spencer as Michael the Porcupine, Avery the Bear  
_ _Christopher Corey Smith as Jack Rabbit  
_ _Tara Platt as Sally Acorn  
_ _Johnny Gioeli as Himself  
_ _Jun Senoue as Himself_

 **Ending Song  
** **It's On Again  
** Sung by Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar

 _[Kendrick Lamar]_

 _And everybody know the story of David and Goliath  
_ _But this is bigger than triumph  
_ _This is for the warrior, this is for you and I  
_ _This is for euphoria, give me a piece of mind  
_ _God is recording this! Won't you look in the sky?  
_ _Tell him you got the behavior of your neighbor  
_ _Even when stability's never in your favor  
_ _Fly with the turbulence, only last a minute  
_ _Land on your dreams, and recognize you live it  
_ _Walk through the valley of peace, with bare feet  
_ _Run through the flames, that's more passion for me  
_ _I passed testimony, just so the world can see  
_ _Got them battle wounds on me, no watch me lick em clean  
_ _I know, I know, my pride, my goals, my highs  
_ _My lows, I know I know, it's mind control  
_ _I know I could prosper, no impostor  
_ _Prosecute my posture  
_ _I stand up and I stand by it what_

 _[Alicia Keys]_

 _I am a freedom fighter, the name that history wrote  
_ _And even through disaster, eye of the tiger for hope  
_ _I'm trying to find my way back, there's no day off for heroes  
_ _And even when I'm tired, go is the only word I know_

 _And the night is takin' over  
_ _And the moonlight gets exposure  
_ _And the players have been chosen  
_ _And it seems like fate has spoken  
_ _When it seems your faith has broken  
_ _By the second, losin' focus  
_ _Ain't no way to get up, get out, get up, get out  
_ _Unless you_

 _I bet they wonder how I go on  
_ _I bet they wonder how I go on  
_ _I'll simply say it's on again, it's on again, whoa  
_ _The world don't stop, it's on again, it's on again, whoa_

 _I am a lonely hero, trying to fight my battles  
_ _Life likes to blow the cold wind, sometimes it freezes my shadow  
_ _In the midst of all this darkness, I sacrifice my ego  
_ _There ain't no room for selfish, we do it for the people_

 _And the night is takin' over  
_ _And the moonlight gets exposure  
_ _And the players have been chosen  
_ _And it seems like fate has spoken  
_ _When it seems your faith has broken  
_ _By the second, losin' focus  
_ _Ain't no way to get up, get out, get up, get out  
_ _Unless you_

 _I bet they wonder how I go on  
_ _I bet they wonder how I go on  
_ _I'll simply say it's on again, it's on again, whoa  
_ _The world don't stop, it's on again, it's on again, whoa_

 _You see, the work don't stop, 'cause they don't stop  
_ _And everybody here trying to get on top  
_ _Everybody from the burbs down to the block  
_ _Gotta hold on tight and don't let go, let go  
_ _Huh  
_ _So you think you hot?  
_ _Gotta grind hard, give it all you got  
_ _You can have, or you can have not  
_ _You see that a lot in the ghetto, ghetto_

 _How I go on  
_ _I bet they'll wonder how I go on  
_ _I'll simply say it's on again, it's on again, whoa  
_ _The world don't stop, it's on again, it's on again, whoa_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Alright, finished my very first crossover! Now that I've finished, I'm probably going to resume my plans for the Fairy Tail Disney Parodies and work on some new ideas for the moment. And who knows, I might make a sequel to Romeoladdin!_

 _So what do you think of my first crossover? Please leave a review, or any new suggestions for my next story, either Fairy Tail, Disney, or something else._

 _This is TheSavageMan100, signing out. Peace!_


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